Treating the hungry

While many students partied the night away on Halloween while dressed in an assortment of costumes, a small group of volunteers decided to spend Friday night in service.

Twenty-one students signed up for "GESC Halloween Trick-or-Treating for Cans," a Gemstone Ellicott Service Committee event during which students go door-to-door asking Potomac residents for non-perishable foods instead of candy. The food is then donated to Manna Food Center in Rockville.

Despite battling rush-hour traffic and giving up more than four hours of Halloween night, sounds of laughter and clapping resonated throughout the Shuttle-UM bus on the way to Potomac.

"I'm in GESC and was looking for something to do," said Haley Holden, a freshman bioengineering major. "I figured 'Why not?'"

"He's my boyfriend; I dragged him," said freshman architecture Amanda Strawitch as she put her arm around sophomore architecture major Eric Joerdens. Though Joerdens was "dragged," he was still optimistic about his night.

"Parties don't start until after 9 p.m., anyway," he said.

The bus dropped students off in front of event organizer and junior mathematics major Emily Sze's house, where everyone split into small groups. Each group had a leader, a highlighted Google map and a plan to cover about 30 houses.

About 150 of the homes had received fliers explaining the event, and their residents had already prepared their donations, Sze said.

"It's nice. They gave us bags this year; last year they didn't," said Rachel Bell, a junior chemistry major.

Donors were enthusiastic and often thanked students for their work.

"I'm really happy to help," said Potomac resident and teacher Liz Grossman, 49. "I give you all an A-plus for doing this."

Even unprepared residents greeted students warmly, even though they were too old for typical trick-or-treating.

"Hi, have some candy," said Peggy Sussman, 68, who wore a light-up sweatshirt with flashing jack-o-lanterns. Sussman donated several cans but only after students agreed to take candy.

By 9 p.m., Sze's garage was filled with boxes of cereal, bags of pasta and an assortment of cans, ranging from tart red cherries to beans.

"There were a lot of really grateful people," said sophomore biology major Neha Pancholi, who was dressed as a clown.

Sze said that there were fewer volunteers this year than in the past, but the 500 pounds of food collected was about the same.

The bus arrived back at the campus just before 10 p.m., leaving plenty of time for volunteers to celebrate Halloween in a more traditional way.

"Actually, I had a pretty good time," Joerdens said. "It was rewarding, and I got a lot of free candy. I won't feel bad about myself in the morning."

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