Halloween is community affair at Allendale
Submitted by Lekas & Levine PR
This year, the kids of Allendale Association celebrated Halloween with a little help from their friends, which included the Lake Villa and Lindenhurst police departments, the Lake Villa Library and throngs of volunteers from Fill A Heart 4 Kids, a children's charity based in Lake Forest.
As part of Allendale's second annual "Trunk or Treat" event, community partners, staff and other supporters decorated their vehicles, then passed out candy and treats to a parade of super heroes, monsters and other creative characters, essentially turning Allendale's parking lot into a virtual neighborhood.
"It's important to us to offer opportunities for our youth to have the same childhood experiences and create some of those same fond memories that we all cherish throughout our lives," Allendale CEO Jason Keeler said.
Kids from all nine of Allendale's residential cottages participated, along with those from Allendale's North Chicago and Benet Lake, Wisconsin, facilities. In addition to trick-or-treating, there were awards for the best decorated vehicles, as judged by the kids. Fill-A-Heart took the award for greatest volunteer participation, bringing 12 separate vehicles to the event.
A not-for-profit organization, Allendale has been caring for kids in crisis for 120 years. Allendale's primary residential facility in Lake Villa provides residential care and specialized educational services to hundreds of Illinois children.
"This gives all our kids the chance to be kids and experience Halloween holiday traditions safely," said Lauren Perry, program manager of Allendale's Therapeutic Recreation Program.
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