Thanks to Pacific Palisades Pediatric Dentistry, 1,400 pounds of candy is off the streets—for a good cause, that is. For its annual candy buyback program, the dentist collected 1,400 pounds of unopened candy, paying $1 per pound to each donator.
The candy has been given to Operation Gratitude to be shipped to American troops overseas.
“We’re taking a potentially problematic issue and spinning it around for good,” Dr. Phil Kamins told the Palisadian-Post.
Dr. Kamins pointed out that it’s not an issue for a child to have a few pieces of candy after Halloween, but they don’t need five pounds of it. Elementary schools and Girl Scouts troops were the biggest contributors to the stockpile, and the staff has dedicated considerable time to seeing the campaign through.
“This has been our life for the last week,” said Sage Kahalnick, insurance coordinator.
A week before the mounds of candy stopped flowing into the office, Kahalnick met several servicemen at the Palisades Farmer’s Market. She stopped to thank them for their service and told them about the candy buyback program. One of the men had received items from Operation Gratitude overseas and thanked her for participating in the program. Kahalnick shared that she was shocked at his response.
“He’s thanking me and all we’re doing is collecting candy, but his life is on the line,” she said. The 1,400 pounds of candy were sent out on Nov. 12.
—DAYNA DRUM
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