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For Immediate Release
This Halloween, about ( Number of Students ) students from ( Name of
School ) will be protecting, rather than vandalizing their local community.
Students enrolled in grade 12 at the school will be working with senior
citizens groups, elementary schools and the local Royal Canadian Mounted
Police throughout town and county in an effort to bring back the "fun" and
end the fear and damage which has so often dominated past Halloweens
throughout this area.
This is the sixth year for the "All Saints" project in Nova Scotia. It is
a program which was initially designed to provide senior citizens with
both peace of mind and companionship on Halloween evening. In 1995, the
project was awarded the Nova Scotia Crime Prevention Award in recognition
of the efforts of these students in their communities.
As has been the case in the past, about ( Number of Students ) students
will be assisting senior citizens in their private homes. Some seniors
have already contacted the school to request student assistance on
Halloween. For the most part, these seniors are either crippled,
handicapped and/or are living alone, but they still wish to play an
active role seeing little children on Halloween. The students will be
in teams of two or three and will be carefully matched to the elderly
person with whom they will be spending the evening.
Other students will be spending Halloween with their grandparents,
great-aunts or great uncles. And yet another group will be assisting seniors in their own neighbourhoods. These are often seniors with whom the students have become acquainted through working with them in areas such as lawn or home maintenance. Or, these seniors may be just neighbours who the students have gotten to know well over the past few years.
Another facet of the project involves ( Number of Teams ) teams, of two to
four students each, who will be placed in the various senior citizens
complexes throughout the town and county. There, the students will stay
with the residents in their common room area on Halloween. The students
primary role is to serve a "greeter" at the main entrance of the complex
for the children in search of treats. As well, the students undertake
routine exterior security checks. The students are always assisted and
under the direction of a designated contact person within the complex and
always in contact with the local police.
But, besides assisting the elderly, the All Saints program also involves
the very young. Under the "Kids Escort" phase, teams of students escort
young children from door-to-door in the local area. This is particularly
helpful for single parent families or working families who wish their
children to participate but due to job restrictions they cannot. In
addition, another ( Number of Teams ) teams of three students each will be
walking in heavy traffic areas to assist the trick or treaters in case of
getting lost or in trouble. These student teams will be visiting elementary
schools the week before Halloween to explain their role to the young
children and to tell them about doing good rather than bad deeds on
Halloween.
In our community, the ( District Number ) District Local of the Nova
Scotia Teachers Union, the local weekly newspaper, ( Newspaper's Name ) ,
and ( Other Parties Involved ) donated money for the purchase shirts for
each participant. These shirts will be distributed just before Halloween
and are worn on Halloween to denote a program participant. The shirts are
unique and feature a logo identifying the program. On the back is the "All
Saints" logo. These shirts serve as a indication of a "friend" to any
child or senior who may need assistance that evening as well as to alert
local police that the student is a program participant.
For Further Information:
Co-ordinator
Telephone:
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