Donated Halloween costumes ease burden for low-income families
Fall is an expensive time of year, say Donna Simpson and Trina Fitzgerald
A pair of Prince Edward Islanders is hoping to provide a bit of a break for struggling families in western P.E.I. this Halloween, easing the burden of an increasingly expensive holiday.
"When I was a little girl, it was whatever was around the house, you'd just put it together type thing," Wellington resident Donna Simpson told CBC News.
"Now it's just everybody going out and they're buying it."
And that can get expensive, said Simpson, even with homemade costumes, and especially for large families.
"For my kids, usually runs about $240 to get them what they want," she said.
Add on to that the autumn is an expensive time of year,
"Halloween is coming up, we've got to get all the kids Halloween costumes," said Simpson's friend Trina Fitzgerald.
"Then we've got to get snowsuits for all the kids and winter boots."
Christmas is on the way, and there is the cost of Thanksgiving dinner. While there are turkey drives and gift drives, Simpson and Fitzgerald thought something should be done to help low-income families through Halloween.
They have started a Halloween costume drive.
Island families are invited to the Wellington Club on Saturday morning to check out the selection, and pick out a costume at no charge.
The pair will continue to accept donated costumes after this weekend, which they will wash and put aside for next year.