By Mike Kinney
Like a good costume, holding a Halloween event amid a COVID-19 pandemic requires creativity. There was no shortage of that during Saturday’s Candy Drive-Thru Giveaway event at Nicholl Park in Richmond.
Held by Rodney Alamo Brown, founder of Soulful Softball Sunday, about 120 cars carrying cleverly costumed children drove up to the park for curbside candy service.
The giveaway took place at 32nd Street and MacDonald Ave. from 1 p.m. to 3 pm.
Volunteers spent two hours prepping about 400 individual bags of candy for kids. they received as many smiles back.
“It feels really good to see the smiles on kids’ faces for Halloween,” volunteer Martin Thomas said. “I really enjoy the spirit of giving.”
Five thousand pieces of candy were donated by the six-member Soulful Softball Sunday Steering Committee. D’Artagnan Conner, owner of Deezerts Bakery, also contributed three flats of mouth-watering red velvet cupcakes.
“All of our cupcakes are made from scratch and with love,” Conner said.
Joe Dayem and Ian Taha of Metro Wireless Unlimited brought pizza and refreshments for volunteers and also donated 2,500 pieces of candy for the Halloween giveaway.
“Today was an awesome display of volunteerism by our beloved Soulful Softball Sunday community,” Brown said.
