11 ways to Do Something (good) on Halloween

1. Trick-or-treat with UNICEF. Make like Selena Gomez and become a young supporter of UNICEF by bringing along that well-known orange box on your trick-or-treating travels. All that pocket change really adds up: since the beginning of the Trick-or-Treat program, UNICEF has raised $140 million to help bring water, education and medicine to kids in need.
2. Stop by a local home for the elderly and help them decorate the halls and rooms for Halloween. You can make crafts beforehand or with the residents at the home, and help them deck the halls with some spooky cheer.
3. You’ve probably been chowing down on candy corn for weeks leading up to the big day. And let’s face it, at the end of the night you’ll eat yourself sick with all your sweet treats. So how about donating half the loot to a family in need? Split up your candy into two piles, snag some for yourself (ok fine, the bigger pile) and pack the rest away to drop off at a youth homeless shelter.
4. Start a candy collection drive at your school (tip: make sure all the candy is wrapped) Drop it off at a local children’s hospital or homeless shelter.
5. Have a Halloween themed bake sale and donate the profits to your cause or your favorite org.
6. Ask the pediatric (children's) cancer ward at your local hospital if you can celebrate Halloween with them. Plan a day around the 31st when you can visit the kids in costume, bring costumes for them, trick-or-treat from room to room, and pass around some candy.
7. Do you live in or near a neighborhood that might be too dangerous to trick-or-treating in? If you live there, organize a Halloween parade and trick-or-treating session at your school or local community center during the day. If you live near an at-risk neighborhood, invite kids from another school in the area to come to your school or community for a day of Halloween festivities.
8. Halloween is just a few weeks from Thanksgiving, a day when many families are left without the feast that you might enjoy. Get your buds together and organize a Halloween benefit bash – complete with a Haunted House, baked goods, and of course, candy. If your town or school already throws a party, see if you can be a part of it. Ask each person who comes to bring a canned or other non-perishable foods. Decorate big boxes at the party entrances for guests to drop their canned food in before they get their party on. Donate the food to a local food pantry or shelter, to help them get a jump start on the Thanksgiving rush.
9. Organize a Halloween-themed run / walk for your favorite cause. Make sure everyone shows up in costume! Make it fun by organizing a judging panel at the finish line to pick the craziest and best costumes. Ask local stores to donate food and prizes.
10. Cause-up your costume! You’ve probably started racking your brain already for this year’s most creative costume. Well, if you’re into a cause why not think of a unique way to dress as the cause. When people ask you what you are, you can give them a fact or two about your cause and what they can do to help! We see some global warming thermometers and human recycling bins in your future…
11. Paint the town orange and black! Bring your community together by organizing a window-painting event in your town. You can use the event to kick off a mentorship program by teaming up with your classmates and friends to mentor younger kids. Talk to City Hall or your local Recreation Department about organizing a day when local stores donate their storefronts to kids and families to paint them with Halloween-themed images. If you already work with younger kids, organize it with them. If you want to start mentoring younger kids, start with this fun project. If you’re looking to raise awareness, money, or collect donated items, take advantage of the community coming together and set up a table or booth in the middle of town on the big painting day (tip: pick a weekend date before Halloween so entire families can come and the town can enjoy the paintings for a week or so)

If you liked this, you might like our 11 Halloween Cause Costume Ideas!

DoSomething Halloween Video

Caution, the contents of this video will scare you.