About Emma Rose Shapiro and
The Halloween Helpers
The Halloween Helpers was conceived in 2008 by then 11-year-old Emma Rose Shapiro while sorting through costumes from years past. The young altruist realized that there are children fortunate enough to get a new costume every year and those who do not even get one in their brief childhood. Emma's goal is to enlist children who outgrow or become disinterested in previous years' costumes and share them with kids who would not typically receive them.In essence, Emma's goal is to raise awareness, and gain empathy, among her peers that there are children in our own community who do not participate in Halloween. This one simple effort provides life-long memories, develops self-worth, and builds stronger communities.
In 2009, the first year of the program, Emma achieved extraordinary success. Her goal was to collect 1,000 costumes. Thanks to more than 50 businesses, schools and scout troops, Emma exceeded her goal and collected 2,036 costumes. All were distributed free of charge to children served by the Greater Norristown Police Athletic League.
In 2010, Emma collected 1,000+ costumers which were distributed to children who attend the John Wister School in Philadelphia as well as four other children's-oriented charities in the Philadelphia area.
In 2011 and 2012, no formal drive/distribution was performed. Five boxes of cherished costumes were shipped to a sister program in the Boston area.
In 2013 we helped the St. Peter the Apostle School in North Philadelphia, Interim House West and the Jane Addams House both in West Philadelphia with more than 400 costumes.
In 2014, The Halloween Helpers distributed costumes nationally. Sites included:
- Creative Minds Day Care, Philadelphia, PA
- The McCall School, Philadelphia, PA
- Carson Valley Children's Aid, Norristown, PA
- Chances, Philadelphia, PA
- Lutheran Settlement, Philadelphia, PA
- SPIN, Philadelphia, PA
- Maternal and Child Health Consortium, West Chester, PA
- Child Abuse Prevention Center, Orange, CA
- The Boys Club of New York, New York, NY
In 2015, The Halloween Helpers distributed costumes nationally. Sites included:
* The Children's Museum, Phoenix, AZ
* Charles Meigs Community Center, Perris, CA
* LIWEN: Long Island Women's Empowerment Network, Brentwood, NY
* Straight and Narrow Inc. Family Success Center, Paterson, NJ
* Chances, Philadelphia, PA
* La Casita 1 and 3, Bronx, NY
* Jane Addams Place/Lutheran Social Services, Philadelphia, PA
* Carson Valley Children's Aid, Norristown, PA
* Warren E. Smith Health System, Philadelphia, PA
In 2016, The Halloween Helpers distributed costumes to these worthy non-profit agencies:
- The Charles Dorsey School, Brooklyn, NY
- Lutheran Settlement House, Philadelphia, PA
- Seneca House, Bronx, NY
- Lang House, New York, NY
- Family Success Center, Paterson, NJ
- Warren E. Smith Health System, Philadelphia, PA
- The Lighthouse Foundation, Miami, FL
- Chances, Philadelphia, PA
In 2017, we distributed 1,400 costumes to children served by these organizations:
Warren E. Smith Health System, PA
The Housing Partnership, KY
Jane Addams Place, PA
Six Homeless Women's/Children's Houses, NY
The Floating Hospital, NY
Safe Horizon, NY
St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School, PA
Carson Valley Children's Aid, PA
Catholic Charities of Trenton, NJ
Chances, PA
PPW Program, NY
Plus a school in Pakistan!
In 2019, we distributed 900 costumes to children served by these organizations:
The Association for Mental Health and Wellness
Time for Change Foundation
The Floating Hospital
Family Success Center
Lutheran Settlement House
Warren E. Smith Health System
Holy Family Wiliamantic
2021:
ACLAMO
ANDRUS
Cunningham Elementary School
Grand Street Settlement's Beacon Community Center
The Floating Hospital
Fort Zumwalt School District
The Horsham Clinic
Maternal and Child Health Consortium
Safe Horizon
South Bronx Residence
Warren E. Smith Health System
In 2022, we distributed 3,200 costumes to children served by these organizations:
ANDRUS, Yonkers, NY
Avent West Children's Mentoring, Raleigh, NC
The Bronx Family Network, 5 sites Throughout NY
Carson Valley Children's Aid, Norristown, PA
Catholic Charities Diocese of Paterson, NJ
Crescent Park Multicultural Family Resource Center, Richmond, CA
The Floating Hospital, Queens, NY
Florida Law Enforcement Agency, Miami, FL
The Horsham Clinic, Ambler, PA
The Lutheran Settlement House, Philadelphia, PA
Maternal and Child Health Consortium, West Chester, PA
St. Francis Center, Los Angeles, CA
Families in FL, WI, PA
In 2023, we distributed 2,400 costumes to children served by these organizations:
Chester County Intermediate Unit, West Grove, PA
Homestead Police, Homestead, FL
The Davies Project, Lansing, MI
Counseling in Schools, Bronx, NY
St Francis Center, Los Angeles, CA
Lutheran Settlement House, Philadelphia, PA
EAH Housing, Richmond, CA
Avent West, Raleigh, NC
ACLAMO, Norristown, PA
BXFN (7 locations in Queens, The Bronx and Jamaica, NY)
The Horsham Clinic, Ambler, PA
Straight and Narrow Center, Paterson, NJ
The Floating Hospital, Long Island City, NY
The Kindness Project, Emmaus, PA
Hour Children, Long Island City, NY
Midway Living, Brooklyn, NY
Casa de Amparo, San Marcos, NY
Safe Horizons (7 locations in the NY Boroughs)
Rockville Centre, Rockville Centre, NY
Grand Settlement, New York, NY
FGCA, New Orleans, LA
8 families in need across the United States
How you can help Emma Rose:
Hold a costume drive at your school, business, camp, scout troop, religious group, special event or organization. Volunteer. Help distribute and/or retrieve costume collection boxes, sort and label costumes, or help out at costume distribution events. Partner with other businesses who can help provide trick-or-treat bags, healthy single-serving snacks or make-up.
Downloadable Forms, Handouts and Signage:
The Halloween Helpers wants to make the costume notification and collection process as easy as possible for you. Therefore, we have created the following downloadable forms and signage that you can easily adapt to meet your own needs!Volunteer Information Form/Handout/Signage
Collection Location Signage/Form/Handout
Directional Signage
Photo of Emma Rose Shapiro
Please let us know if you need any other forms or signage to make your marketing process easier! We're open to any and all ideas!
E-mail us! info@TheHalloweenHelpers.com
Call us! (610) 639-9460
Mail us! 414 Penn Rd., Wynnewood, PA 19096
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About The Halloween Helpers
(Top) Emma, age 12; (bottom), Emma, age 17, co-founder, The Halloween Helpers
