2007 Candy for Troops

         

Watch the Story on 6ABC
about our Halloween 2007
drive.

Two years ago, Dr. Markus came up with the idea to distribute it to the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the soldiers could use it to befriend local children.  Two of the women who work for him have brothers stationed in harm’s way, and they agreed, the troops could really use the candy.

Last year, they collected and distributed about 1500 pounds of candy, and expect it to be even bigger this year.  There are 200 offices nationwide, and three other offices in the Delaware Valley: Dr. Gary Budman in Paulsboro, NJ, Dr. Sander White in Broomall, PA, and Dr. Buzz Waterston in Media, PA.  “It was a tremendous project last year, that’s gotten even bigger this year.  We hope to see this become a Halloween tradition in dental offices throughout the US in future years.  Of course, more importantly, we hope that we can see an end to war, and the need to do this, but until then, I hope to help spearhead the addition of more offices next year.  I think the leap from 2 offices last year to 200 this year is a great start,” says Dr. Markus .

Last year, logistics became an obstacle: how to get all that candy out to the troops. But with the help of a great group of local volunteers it all became possible. This year, one of our patients undertook the task of trucking the candy where it had to go. “We truly couldn’t do this without the help of NFI Industries, (National Freight) which is also going to be collecting candy in their local offices,” said Markus.

This year, we have also gotten a local restaurant, BokBok, on White Horse Pike to provide a buy one, get one free offer for kids’ meals.  Dr. Markus will be raffling off an iPod.  For every pound of candy that kids bring in, they will get a raffle ticket.  One lucky winner will be drawn at 7PM on Wednesday November 7th, when candy collection ends.  The hours for candy collection are:

Thursday,               Nov 1                     from 8:30 -4

Friday,                    Nov 2                     from 10-1

Saturday,               Nov 3                     from 10 -1

Monday,                Nov 5                     from 8:30 – 7

Tuesday                 Nov 6                     from 8:30-4

Wednesday,          Nov 7                     from 8:30 – 7

There is also an added bonus for parents:  When you come in, we will give you a gift certificate that can be worth over $300 for treatment in our office in gratitude.  The big story though, is the smiles on the kids faces that we see when they know that something they worked on is going for the better good.