All in The Family: E. Northport Sisters Bake Halloween Treats for Charity

For one East Northport family, the stretch from Halloween to Election Day is a time to help those in need.

Since 2005, the Perles family has held bake Halloween bake sales in front of their home every Oct. 31. They donate the proceeds to the Northport Food Pantry on Election Day.

This year, the Perles family said, the bake sale was their best yet, having topped their previous records by raising more than $1,200.

For sisters – Kyra, 9, Zoe, 14, and Dylan, 16 – it’s a family tradition that gets stronger each year, thanks to family and friends.

As Kyra tells Patch, the tradition started when Dylan at age 7, wanted to help poor people buy food. Dylan’s original plan was a lemonade stand, but then thoughts turned to a bake sale because of the trick-or-treaters stopping by their house.

Zoe, who was five at the time, quickly got involved, while Kyra, who was born that year, grew up loving the preparation for the sale and the chance to give back to the community.

“My sisters, our friends, my parents, their friends and my grandma have been baking, making posters and advertising non stop for weeks,” Kyra said, during the days leading up to the sale. “People in our community really look forward to the bake sale and they donate supplies and come on Halloween from all over town.”

This year was no different, as the girls spent the day after Halloween at the the Northport Community Theater, where they are rehearsing for “Fiddler on The Roof,” and sold the remaining baked goods to continue raising money.

It’s the kind of effort that indicates to parents they are doing something right.

“My husband, Greg, and I, are very proud of our daughters and all of their friends for their tireless hard work all week to make this happen,” said Halle Perles. “It is wonderful to see young people giving their time and talents to helping others in their community.”

And it helps, when do-gooders enjoy the process.

“My sisters and friends and I had fun baking, making posters and handing out flyers for the bake sale,” Kyra said. “It feels good to be able to help people who need it. This is how I’ve always celebrated Halloween my whole life and I hope I always will.”

The annual tradition has a kind of staying power Dylan hadn’t anticipated during the first bake sale.

“When I thought of this idea when I was seven years old it never crossed my mind that ten years later it would turn into such a big community event,” Dylan said. “I’m so thrilled that we broke our record for our 10th anniversary and raised $1,285 for the food pantry.”

And nothing, not even Hurricane Sandy, when the family had no electricity, has dampened the tradition.

“The bake sale is Halloween to me,” Zoe said. “I don’t have any memories of Halloween before the year we began having this event.”

“ A lot of people take things like food and having a place to live for granted,” Zoe added. “There are so many people in the world who don’t have those things and that’s not right. I believe it is our responsibility to help.”

Photo: Mia Donneruno, Casey Pace, Dylan Perles, Claudia Quadrino, Christine Lanzilotta, Jenna Lyle, JessieEdelstein, Dayna Ambrosio, Ryan Dowling, Mariel Quadrino, Nicole Millmann, Zoe Perles, Justine Maffei, Luciana Artega, Emma Canfora, Ben Canfora. Towards the right of photo from left to right are: Sarah Winnegar, Julia Cavallo, Kyra Perles, Samantha Klein, Brooke Izzo