Health & Fitness
Iona Hosts Trick-or-Treat to Give New Rochelle Children a Halloween
Iona College hosted a trick-or-treat night for children ages 4-11 on Nov. 2 to give them a Halloween after Hurricane Sandy made conditions unsafe to be out at night.
Halloween is supposed to be scary. Children are supposed to be startled by what lurks in the night. It’s all in the spirit of the holiday. But when Hurricane Sandy knocked down power lines and left most of New Rochelle in the dark, parents were the ones afraid—afraid for their children’s safety, so the traditional trick-or-treat was canceled.
“There were a lot of tears shed that night,” said New Rochelle mother Linda Cosentino.
So the Student Government Association at Iona College had an idea to create their own trick or treat night on Iona’s campus. Children ages 4 to 11 were invited to join in the festivities Friday evening.
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“Iona College likes to reach out to the New Rochelle community,” said Savannah Lang, vice president for administration of Iona College’s Student Government Association [SGA] and coordinator of this event. “We wanted to make up for Halloween being canceled the best way we can.”
Children dressed up in their costumes and walked around the student union parking lot and “trick-or-treated” at eight different tables—three were for children fill their bags with candy, one was for sand art, one was for coloring picture frames, one was for tattoos and one was for coloring trick-or-treat bags.
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Iona College students volunteered to work the tables, dancing and joking with the children.
Sean Lynch, a sophomore at Iona and member of the Iona Players, dressed up as Spiderman and made the children laugh with his web-spinning dances.
“I love kids,” he said. “I was happy to volunteer. No one should be sad. No one should be sad in general, but especially on Halloween.”
The children’s costumes ranged from superheroes to ninjas to princesses and witches. They ran from one table to the next, filling up their bags with treats.
Peyton Keegan, 6, said with a huge smile, “I love Halloween. It’s scary scary. And I love to trick-or-treat.”
“I love the candy, that’s the most fun part,” added 7-year-old Jordan Keegan.
Parents like Lynn Keegan, were appreciative of Iona’s effort to give New Rochelle children a Halloween that Hurricane Sandy threatened to take away.
“This was very generous and thoughtful,” said Keegan. “It really means a lot.”
