Triangle residents are accustomed to the Halloween festivities from trunk or treat: dressing up and trick or treating with decorated car trunks. However, this year’s event allowed children to enjoy both collecting candy and fundraising to help their western neighbors affected by Hurricane Helene. Members of the Green Hope Key Club chapter, an organization focused on community service, joined together and hosted this event to raise funds for the victims of Helene.
On the evening before Halloween, the center of the Green Hope parking lot was filled with decorated cars, buckets of candies, tables of craft activities and children dressed up in fun costumes. Kids, ranging from preschoolers to middle schoolers, walked along the rows of colorful cars to visit and collect candies from them.
“Everybody was smiling and so helpful, and the entire vibe was just so optimistic and happy,” Whitney McLeod said. McLeod is an enthusiastic mother who attended the Trunk or Treat event and was elated to bring her four year old daughter Finley to Green Hope. The two were amazed with the efforts that had been put into the event. McLeod and her daughter enjoyed eating from gloves filled with popcorn and candy corn, venturing through decorated cars and making paper pumpkins.
The two hour event was extended due to the excitement of families and willingness of volunteers to continue the magical event for the children. Despite having to wake up early for school the next day, McLeod and many other parents allowed their children to walk around in the dark to continue exploring the different food and activities made available to them. Most importantly, everyone was awaiting the reveal of the “best costume” contest winners.
The Trunk or Treat volunteers worked tirelessly to make the event memorable. For the past week, they have been creating posters, collecting decorations and supplies, donating bags of candy and accessorizing cars according to themes. However, there is one individual who deserves special recognition.
“We saw how much destruction Hurricane Helene caused North Carolina Residents and we wanted to help in any way we could.” Mrs. Alyssa Coughenour, the teacher advisor of Key Club, was the driving force behind the Trunk or Treat event. She was determined to aid victims of Hurricane Helene, the disaster which caused damages all across North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. Ms. Coughenour strategically planned each families’ entry fee to be a donation toward Samaritan’s Purse, an organization leading the efforts to aid Western Carolina residents build back their homes and lives after Hurricane Helene.
Ms. Coughenour went beyond simply advising the club and played a critical role in the success of the event. She battled initial struggles of advertising the Green Hope’s Trunk or Treat by personally visiting carpool lines of several local elementary schools and handing out event flyers. Ms. Coughenour devoted hours of time and energy into planning key activities of the event, including stations for donuts, pin the tail on the black cat and face painting. She and her husband even hand-built one of the hit activities of the night: a Halloween photo booth with a colorful balloon arch.
Ms. Coughenour encourages others to participate in impactful service opportunities. “Find your niche and place where you enjoy serving and stick with it,” she said. For the 2024-2025 school year, Ms. Coughenour expressed to the members her desire to increase the number of service projects done by Key Club. Her main goal is to support our local community by continuing to create and host more events like Trunk or Treat. While this is only Ms. Coughenour’s second year as the club’s teacher advisor, she is already creating a positive change with the help of Green Hope students.
The 2024 Green Hope Trunk or Treat raised $200 for Samaritan’s Purse, providing relief for families who have suffered due to the hurricane. Each participant in this community service project proved that through the joint efforts of teachers, students and families, a spirit of compassion can be sparked within communities and make a great impact.
