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THE PESA POST
The latest news, views and announcements from
Parents, Educators/Teachers & Students in Action

November 4, 2021
ALL TREATS, NO TRICKS
A PESA intern and her kiddo deck their car with boughs of horror (sort of) to make Halloween a little sweeter for small-town tykes
Halloween finally began to make a comeback this year after the pandemic took a toll on the much-loved candy-giving holiday. But some areas around Los Angeles have experienced additional challenges to the fall festivities, and the community of Lake Los Angeles is one of those. 

Located in the Antelope Valley, it’s a rural community heavily impacted by poverty. (Backers of PESA and readers of this newsletter know that we provide a great deal of support to the area’s Challenger Middle School in the resource-strapped Wilsona School District.) Add to that the sparsely populated nature of the region—houses spread apart by great distances—and you’ve got one tough town for trick-or-treaters.

But that’s where Trunk or Treat comes in! For those unfamiliar with these community events held across the country, they’re a fun alternative to traditional door-to-door trick-or-treating in which volunteers come together in large parking lots and decorate the trunks of their vehicles with Halloween flair. Kids in costume can then safely make the rounds of the parked cars, taking in the sights and sounds and—yes!—gather some sweet goodies.
This past Saturday, a Trunk or Treat event was hosted by the Lake Los Angeles Park and Conservation Association, and PESA was invited to participate. We’re extremely proud of how our very own MSW intern Olivia Fuentes (left) decked out her car on behalf of our organization, along with some 15 other community members and groups. In addition to serving as an intern, Fuentes is pursuing her masters at Azusa Pacific University while working at the California State Prison in Lancaster —and raising four kids! She and her 11-year-old daughter Ava (below) stepped up with their ghostly, ghastly, spider-webbed car that included decorative lights and games. And naturally, they passed out candy and fidget toys to the more than 100 kids in attendance.
And as so often happens with these types of efforts, it’s sometimes unclear who walks away the most fulfilled—the kids or the volunteers. “We were both very happy to participate,” says Fuentes. “My daughter is 11—that age when things like this might not seem to be “cool” to her. I asked her to come be my assistant, and she said, ‘I don’t like that term—but I’ll be your manager! But she was really excited when it was all done. She said, ‘that was nice mom. It made me feel really good.’ I was glad to have shared that moment together.”

And we’re glad to have caring people like Olivia and Ava as a part of the PESA team.

If you’d like to support PESA’s many social and educational initiatives, please contact us