HILLSBOROUGH: HES running costume donation drive

By Eileen Oldfield, Staff Writer
   Every year, English as a Second Language teacher Betsy Borto noticed several Hillsborough Elementary School students marched in the school’s Halloween parade without costumes.
   That thought led the school to hold its first costume donation drive, which it will open to the entire Hillsborough community.
   ”In some cases it (not having a costume) may be due to cultural misunderstanding or a language barrier,” HES Principal Mike Volpe said. “But is some cases, it may also be due to financial hardship. Our initial goal was to simply assure that all HES students who wanted to have a costume would have one. But then we started to think bigger and thought that we might be able to help more of the Hillsborough community with this effort.”
   The school already has support from one former student, Sydney Townsend, who has her Girl Scout troop gathering old costumes.
   Residents with gently worn Halloween costumes can drop the items off at the school office before Oct. 24, Mr. Volpe said. The donation drive is not limited to children’s costumes, and the school will be collecting adult and infant costumes too. The school will ensure the costumes are clean and in good condition before distributing them, Mr. Volpe added.
   Costume pickup will be from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 22 at the school, and Mr. Volpe intends to consult other district principals regarding local families who need costumes. Any additional costumes will be donated to the Hillsborough Food Pantry.
   ”An effort such as this emphasizes to students that they are part of a larger community and that as an individual they can make the choice to help those in their community,” Mr. Volpe said. “Students can feel empowered to make good choices.”