Instead of letting uneaten Halloween candy gather dust in a plastic pumpkin, donate it to Treats-4-Troops. This year the charity organization gathered about 7 tons of candy to send to troops overseas. That’s 14,000 pounds — enough to fill a 24 foot truck.

Treats-4-Troops, a charitable initiative run by local organization Mover Moms, collects candy from drop-off locations all over the DC area. One of the candy drives was at Whitman.

The SGA set up collection boxes outside the main office the day after Halloween, hoping to increase awareness and student participation for the project.

Mover Moms president Rebecca Kahlenberg started the project in 2007 after contemplating the excess candy in her house after Halloween.

“No amount is too small,” said Kahlenberg, a former Whitman parent. “People will drop their candy off and say, ‘oh it’s just a small bag.’ Well a small bag plus a small bag plus a small bag equals a truckload.”

The candy from Treats-4-Troops helps fill Christmas stockings that West Virginia-based company Boatsie’s Boxes ships overseas for the winter holidays. Their annual “Operation Christmas Stocking” ships soldiers up to 20,000 stockings stuffed with candy, snacks, gifts and necessities like toiletries.

“We depend on the candy from Mover Moms as a kind of a fun treat to fill the stockings,” Boatsie’s Boxes founder and president Gail Van Vranken said. “We’re trying to support the troops and tell them how much we care about them and appreciate their sacrifice. The holidays are a very hard time for them to be away.”

Treats-4-Troops was originally aimed at gathering donations solely from the Bethesda area, but has expanded to include donation sites in D.C, Prince George’s County, Prince William’s County and more. Some people even mail in candy from other states, Kahlenberg said.

The project’s success is due to how easy it is to participate and how little extra effort is required from donors.

“Nobody has to spend additional money and we’re not telling people to go and buy candy. We’re saying to give the extra candy you have,” she said. “It’s really a grassroots effort, it’s all about kids and families and offices giving a little treat to the troops.”