Sweets for soldiers

     The weeks after the Halloween night candy chow-down are usually spent sifting through the leftover profits of that night and picking out the most appetizing candy. After a while, parents often throw away the dregs of what remains.
     But all over Oceanside this year, in an initiative spearheaded by resident Christine Vollkommer, families are donating their leftover candy to American troops.
“I had sent out a letter to all the PTAs in the school districts of East Rockaway, Baldwin, Oceanside and Lynbrook,” Vollkommer explained. “Then I sent out letters to the principals of East Rockaway, Rockville Centre, Oceanside, Lynbrook and Baldwin. And I had the principals call me and say, ‘We’re going to do a collection here and then we’ll send it to you.’”
     The candy has come pouring in to South Shore Fitness, where Vollkommer works. Schools and individuals alike have been donating candy for the troops, and not just the unwanted leftovers: Vollkommer’s children, as it happens, are allergic to peanuts, so she donated all the candy they collected, including Reese’s, Baby Ruths and more.
     “I was here the day after Halloween, just sitting here while families gave me candy,” said Vollkommer. “Why I did it out of South Shore Fitness is that I have a lot of flexibility here, and the members are so great. If you came here and saw the candy I had in a room, you’d be taken aback. It’s so much.” According to Vollkommer, she has collected well over 400 pounds of sweets so far.
Schools all over, including School 3 in Oceanside, have been collecting candy for the same cause. School 3’s site-based team — a group of two parents, two teachers and the school principal, who discuss programming and issues at the school — came up with the candy idea at a September meeting, independent of Vollkommer. They felt that it would be a good lesson for students about community service.