WINDSOR

Windsor-Essex non-profit handing out 2,000 gift bags for Halloween

Ricardo Veneza CTV Windsor Reporter

Published Thursday, October 29, 2020 8:06PM EDT

Nour Hachem-Fawaz (left), president of Build A Dream, Tamara Samardzic (centre) Events and Research Specialist, and Catrina Franzoi (right) Content and Events Coordinator, hand out Build A Dream treat bags outside of the Adie Knox Recreation Complex in Windsor on Thursday, October 29, 2020. (Ricardo Veneza/CTV Windsor).

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WINDSOR, ONT. -- Sweet treats are just some of what the Build A Dream non-profit hopes to give to children in Windsor-Essex with 2,000 Halloween gift bags being handed out as part of a new campaign.

At the Adie Knox Drive-Thru Food Bank on Thursday, the group began handing out the purple bags filled with candy, hand sanitizer and a calendar with stories of inspiring women in non-traditional careers.

“We just help and encourage and inspire young women to seek career pathways and educational pathways in underrepresented fields and so, by getting the word out about that, especially to underrepresented families, we can encourage them that there is a pathway there for you and you don’t have to be limited by your circumstances,” Catrina Franzoi, the content and events coordinator with Build A Dream, told CTV News.

The gift bags are part of the group’s ‘Building Dreams in the Spirit of Halloween’ campaign, meant to help return some normalcy and fun in what has been a difficult year for families.

“COVID-19 has had a huge impact on our socialization, and ability to gather with family and friends,” Nour Hachem, the president and founder of the non-profit said in a news release. “We wanted to find a way in which we could help in delivering a safe and memorable Halloween.”

Build A Dream points to local grocery stores, businesses, and sponsors for bringing together the bags for families.

The purple bags will be handed out again on Friday at the Unemployed Help Centre Food Bank at 6955 Cantelon Drive in Windsor from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Another giveaway will be held on Saturday at Scarehouse Windsor at 1441 McDougall Street as part of the ‘Trunk or Treat’ drive-thru.

Franzoi adds the group is also holding a pair of Halloween contests alongside the gift bag initiative. High school students are encouraged to build ways to deliver candy in a way that follows public health recommendations concerning COVID-19. Elementary school students are being asked to let a future career inspire their Halloween costume.

Winners will be selected from submissions sent to the non-profit’s social media platforms by Saturday.