In many urban and economically disadvantaged areas of Dallas, young children and their parents find it difficult and even dangerous to engage in the traditional fall activity of “trick or treating” on Halloween.
Costumes and candy are luxuries for struggling families, especially in a down economy, and occasional violence in their neighborhoods means thousands of Dallas children cannot experience Halloween safely like their Park Cities peers.
This year, however, will be different for one group of students, thanks to the efforts of SMU’s Greek community.
On Oct. 31, nearly 200 students from the Trinity River Mission, the west Dallas-based non-profit, will “Trick or Treat on Greek Street” in a first-annual collaboration with SMU’s Interfraternity Council. Starting at 2 p.m., groups of children ages 5 to 13 will walk to each of the nine IFC fraternity houses collecting candy from fraternity members.
The goal of the event is to allow these children to experience Halloween in a safe environment, and also to give them an opportunity to see what a college campus looks like.
“Many of these kids don’t know what SMU is,” said IFC Vice-President of Service and Philanthropy Jake Torres.
“We’re so close – just a few miles away,” Torres said. “We sometimes go out into these communities and volunteer, but we rarely bring them to campus.”
According to the organization’s Web site, the Trinity River Mission provides educational programs for nearly 450 children each year, helping them develop math and reading skills and ensuring they are proficient in language skills.
The organization was founded in the early 1960s as an outreach program of Lovers Lane United Methodist Church to assist with the relocation of Native Americans from Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma. It now serves an area of Dallas that is predominantly Hispanic, according to Torres.
Josh Schutts, coordinator of Fraternity and Sorority Life, said the event is very positive for IFC.
“I’m proud to see the men demonstrating a commitment to the inherent value of service over self,” Schutts said. “This is just a small part of a greater commitment [IFC members] have to the greater Dallas area.”
“I think it’s good for our guys to get out of their comfort zones and volunteer,” Torres said.
For more information on the Trinity River Mission, visit trinityrivermission.org.
