Thank you to our patients and community for helping Future of Dentistry break its record for “Treats For Troops!” This is our annual Halloween candy collection, which benefits U.S. troops and veterans. We collected an amazing 796 pounds this year!
Future of Dentistry began “Treats For Troops” several years ago. It’s a sweet way to show our troops and veterans we appreciate them. We hope it gives them something to smile about!
It’s also a great fit for us as a dental practice, since it reduces the amount of unhealthy snacks that kids consume. (At left is Roman Casazza, whose dad, Dr. Gerry Casazza, established the program at Future of Dentistry.)
The amount of candy collected for “Treats For Troops” has grown every year and local schools and youth groups are an essential part of why it is a success. Several hundred pounds of candy were collected this year by the Greenwood School of Wakefield; the Killam School of Reading in collaboration with Cub Scout Pack 735 of Reading; the Barrows School of Reading; and the Goddard School of Reading.
The Scouts played a major role in gathering, preparing and transporting the candy! (Some of the Pack participants are pictured below, right.) The rest of the candy was donated by numerous patients and families throughout the area. 
Thanks to all the kids and parents and teachers! With your help, we easily topped last year’s total of 625 pounds.
We’d also like to thank everyone who participated in our Facebook contest to guess how much candy we collected. Congratulations to the winners, Andrew D. (800 pounds) and Mark V. (783 pounds.) Those were the closest guesses to the real total of 796 pounds!
Many local students submitted letters or cards for our troops and veterans. Future of Dentistry offers a printable “Dear Hero” stationary option for families and schools. The children’s messages are enclosed with the candy donations, along with toothbrushes from Future of Dentistry, because of course we want our troops to keep their smiles in great shape! (Many of the letters came from the Greenwood School, whose candy collection was spearheaded by Jeanine Campbell’s fourth grade class, pictured below. You can also view a couple of the letters further below. They’re as sweet as the candy!) 
The candy collection lasts for about a week. Then the Future of Dentistry team focuses on sorting and organizing to ensure the treats meet the U.S. Military’s standards for donation. After weighing and boxing and labeling, our team ships the majority to Operation Gratitude for care packages for active-duty troops.
We also keep things locally-focused by donating some to local organizations that support our veterans and troops. Our final thank-you is for the veterans organizations and local volunteer groups who make our donations possible and work so hard for our veterans and troops year-round. These include Paula Berg of Wakefield, Helping Our Troops of Stoneham, Operation Troop Support of Danvers, the Melrose-Wakefield-Saugus Veteran Services District, and many more.
If you’re interested in participating in “Treats for Troops” with Future of Dentistry next year, please contact the Wakefield office by mid-October 2019. Please call 781-245-2299 or email us at info@futureofdentistry.com.
