Trunk or Treat Photo Gallery
In normal years, the Hillsdale College Athletic Department's Halloween festivities for the local community are centered around the closest home game to Halloween for the Charger volleyball team, with a costume party and candy giveaways.
But 2020 hasn't been a normal year, and with no home events in volleyball in the fall, the Hillsdale College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee was determined to find a way to keep the Halloween tradition going in spite of the challenges.
In place of the volleyball event, Hillsdale SAAC hosted an outdoor Trunk or Treat event on Saturday, Oct. 31, allowing Charger athletic teams, fraternities, sororities and dorms to give area children a fun Halloween experience, while also raising money for the Make-A-Wish foundation.
SAAC got an assist from Executive Secretary to the Dean of Women Carolyn Milligan, who helped organize dormitory participation in the event.
In a Trunk or Treat event, participants dress up, decorate their cars and pass out candy from the trunk of their cars to children trick or treating on Halloween, providing a safer alternative to indoor events and normal trick-or-treating, which often involves crossing several intersections on foot at night.
The event was a smashing success, with 31 total cars showing up to pass out candy, representing eight Charger athletic teams and nearly every dormitory and Greek House on Hillsdale's campus, with athletes and non-athletes, Greeks and Independents all coming together to help the community have a fun Halloween night.
SAAC also raised over $500 in donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation on the night. All the schools in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference partner with Make-A-Wish to raise money for the organization that helps make dreams come true for children with critical and life-threatening illnesses throughout the school year.
"The event had an amazing turn-out," said SAAC Co-President and senior volleyball player Madie Schider. "I love how the Hillsdale community and the college organizations all came out to support Make-A-Wish.
"We anticipated about 300 kids and probably had nearly 600 kids come through. It was a bitter-sweet feeling to run out of candy near the end! We want to thank all the different teams and organizations who participated and were able to be a part of such an amazing day."
Hillsdale SAAC is hoping the success of the fall Trunk or Treat will lead to a great year of charity fundraising for Make-A-Wish on campus.
"The trunk or treat event was a huge success, and it was really awesome to see everyone's hard work pay off," said SAAC Co-President and senior women's tennis player Elli Formentin. "I'm really looking forward to the next Make-A-Wish event this school year, and I'm confident we can surpass our fundraising goal for the year."
Photo by Camryn Olson