Host a Not-So-Scary Trunk-or-Treat
This October, your organization may consider hosting a Trunk or Treat. This event usually involves hosting vehicles in your parking lot with trunks decorated by volunteers within your organization. Then, children from within your organization and the surrounding community can go trunk-to-trunk collecting candy as they would in a typical trick-or-treating fashion.
Why Trunk-or-Treat?
Many religious organizations and churches have opted to host annual Trunk-or-Treat events. Trunk-or-Treating may be a favorable option for several reasons:
- Children can enjoy the trick-or-treating tradition in a more controlled environment than going door-to-door.
- Entire families can participate not only in the trunk-or-treating activity, but also in decorating trunks or volunteering.
- A trunk-or-treat can serve as an extension of your organization’s greater mission and provides a point of connection with the community.
How can you prepare?
The key to preparing a fun event is preparing a safe event. Review these items to keep your event running smoothly and according to schedule:
- Ensure you have enough volunteers to monitor all activities.
- Appoint volunteers to act as traffic control and security for the event.
- Provide detailed instructions and schedules to staff and volunteers ahead of time.
- Clearly communicate guidelines for participation, such as a sign-up sheet or registration process.
- Prepare a backup plan in case of inclement weather, such as moving the event inside.
- Communicate the date, timeframe and any applicable rules to participants ahead of time.
- Review your policies for handling potential emergencies, such as severe weather or a medical event.