BALTIMORE — It was a day of all treats, no tricks for children in the Sandtown area.
The Futurecare Sandtown-Winchester held its annual Halloween festival. The skilled nursing facility invites children in from the community for the day.
The kids got to pick pumpkins out of the patch, jump around in bounce houses, and take a horse-and-buggy ride – right there in the city.
And it was all free, thanks to the folks at Futurecare, who have been holding this event for this community for 20 years. Both staff and a few residents of the skilled nursing facility organize this.
This gives children whose parents don’t feel safe going trick-or-treating in their neighborhood a little fun.
“They get everything that they need here,” says Shenita Vereen, admissions director and organizer of the event. “They get the candy bags, you know, they get the chips, the juice, the hot dogs, the pumpkins. They get it all. They get it all.”
About 1,500 students from five local schools participated. The festival is more than a day out of the classroom. It’s a time of fun for both students and teachers.
“Being here in this community, and just allowing themself just to be a kid and being free and having fun,” says Jasimon Boyd-White, teacher at Franklin Square Elementary School.
“So, it was a really good experience.”
Staff also handed out new winter hats and gloves to the children. They even got a visit from Oriole the Bird.
