Monmouth College Student-Athletes to Hold 'Trick-or-Treat on 7th Street' on Halloween
Members of the Monmouth College Student Athlete Advisory Committee will host the group's third-annual Trick-or-Treat on 7th Street from 7-8 p.m. on Halloween in front of the College's Huff Athletic Center.
Monmouth, Ill. (10/30/2018) — Area children have chance to load up on candy this Halloween and also meet several dozen Fighting Scots, thanks to students in the Monmouth College Department of Athletics.
From 7-8 p.m. on Halloween, Oct. 31, members of the Monmouth Student Athlete Advisory Committee will host the group's third-annual Trick-or-Treat on 7th Street in front of the College's Huff Athletic Center.
All area children and their family members are invited to attend the event. All candy that will be distributed will be pre-packaged, individually wrapped and nut-free.
"The event has been successful for the past couple of years, and our student-athletes really enjoy getting to meet and interact with the local kids," said Monmouth women's lacrosse coach Elizabeth Demara, who helps advise the Monmouth student group.
Demara said Trick-or-Treat on 7th Street was created to help "connect our student-athletes with the local community."
"We see a lot of local kids and families in the stands at our home contests, but our student-athletes don't always have a chance to interact with them on game days," she said. "The Trick-Or-Treat on 7th Street is a great way to bridge that gap between our local families and student-athletes by providing them with a fun way to interact."
Demara said interactions between the College's student-athletes and the trick-or-treaters "are often short, a brief conversation about their costume, their favorite candy, how many pieces of candy they've scored or simply exchanging high fives, but it's a great way to give back to some of our youngest fans."
For Carl O'Connor '20 of Wataga, Ill., being involved with Trick-Or-Treat on 7th Street is a "great way to interact with the people of the town."
"It is great to see all of the kids come through the line," said O'Connor, who is a member of the track and field team and is one of the students who has helped plan the event. "They are excited to talk to us, and we have a great time talking to them. It is great to see the kids' faces light up when we guess what they are dressed up as I think most of us remember how exciting Halloween was when we were younger."
Demara said the Trick-Or-Treat on 7th Street has become increasingly popular with the community.
"The first year we hosted it, we actually ran out of candy in the first 20 minutes, so we sent one of the coaches to the store to get more candy for us," she said. "We didn't run out of candy as a group last year, but the baseball team ran out of candy pretty fast. Overall it's been a great event, and our student-athletes look forward to it every year."