It's Halloween and that means plenty of ghosts, goblins and trick-or-treaters. But for some very passionate Halloween enthusiasts, it’s about decorating and giving back to a very important charitable cause.
It’s called, Skeletons for St. Jude - a fundraising campaign Plainville’s Danielle Alonso is taking quite literally.
She’s collected countless boney friends to help raise money for the acclaimed children’s hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
“If we can help raise money for sick kids then why not?” Alonso said.
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In West Hartford, the Tomlins are doing the same - a ghoulish display, with a much deeper purpose.
“We love decorating and we thought why not turn our decorations into a bigger moment,” Annie Tomlin said.
Skeletons for St. Jude participants also include Eddie Fritz. He took the day off Monday just to decorate his haunted landscape.
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Fritz said his QR code has generated about a $1,000 already, allowing him to use his Halloween passion to make a difference.
“Before we were just doing it for fun, and now we have a reason to do it. So, what’s better than giving it back to the kids?” Fritz said.
The decorations are elaborate, capturing the spirit of the season, while supporting an incredible cause. St. Jude Children’s Hospital treats children with the most difficult forms of cancer and no family ever receives a bill because of generous donations through fundraising efforts like this.
“People donate a couple bucks, 20 bucks, we’ve even seen someone donate 100 bucks,” Fritz said. “It’s been awesome.”
The cause is something participants have taken very seriously as it helps fight one the scariest things of all - children’s cancer.
“We just wanted to give back in any way we could, and we’re like let’s put the skeletons to work. It was so easy,” said Naugatuck’s Casey Reilly.
Afonso has taken the skeleton theme to the extreme; her lawn is essentially a bone yard. Her hope is to raise $1,000 and celebrate every donation that has already come.
“When I get the email that someone made a donation, it makes me happy and my seven-year-old son is ecstatic,” Afonso said.
Those donations will help St. Jude continue providing critical care. So, with its devilish décor, the Afonso’s have created an enchanting and sure-to-be popular Halloween destination.
“I swear we had 1,000 people last year,” she said, saying she expects that and more this year.
