Parents, link up with your area dentist to donate all that surplus candy your kids will get this Halloween to troops and First Responders.

I’ve blogged before about various organizations that collect candy and this year Kool Smile dental offices are collecting candy beginning Friday, Oct. 28 through Saturday, Nov. 5. You don’t have to be a current patient to participate!

For every 25 pieces of candy you donate, Kool Smiles will give you a toy for your kid and we know toys are better for preventing cavities than sticky sweet candy.

The candy is distributed later by Operation Gratitude which will include it in care packages to our brave men and women serving in the Armed Forces overseas to remind them of home sweet home.

Operation Gratitude annually sends 200,000+ care packages to Veterans, First Responders, New Recruits, Wounded Heroes, their Care Givers, and to individually named U.S. service members deployed overseas and their families waiting at home. Each package is filled with food, entertainment, hygiene and hand-made items, as well as personal letters of support. Our mission is to lift the spirits and meet the evolving needs of the Military and First Responder communities, and provide volunteer opportunities for civilians anywhere in America to express their appreciation to all who serve our nation. Each package contains donated product valued between $45 and $100 and costs our organization $15 to assemble and ship. Since its inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude volunteers have shipped more than 1.6 Million Care Packages.

Last year, Kool Smiles patient families donated a record-breaking 6,520 pounds of Halloween candy, that’s over 3 tons, to the men and women serving in the Armed Forces overseas.

Awesome! Better than scaring your kids with Jimmy Kimmel‘s “I ate all the candy” prank!