Lafayette Business Owner Collecting Easter Candy for Underprivileged Children

Local business owner Robin McMillan is once again asking for help to fill Easter baskets with candy for local needy children.

Each year, there are hundreds of children who will not receive an Easter basket without the help of local groups and volunteers.

We are hoping you can help! We are asking for donations of all types of candy, especially the sour candy varieties, to be dropped off at the KPEL studio at 1749 Bertrand St. here in Lafayette. McMillan says the sour variety are very popular with kids.

McMillan tells KPEL that each year, volunteers fill about 600 baskets, but this year the number of people asking for help has grown tremendously. She says as Easter draws closer, the requests always go up. She estimates that by the 23 of this month, she will be looking for enough candy to fill upwards of one thousand baskets.

So what kinds of things is McMillan looking for? The following is a partial list of some of the things we are asking you to drop off here at the studio:

• Any loose candy (it will be put inside of plastic eggs to go in the baskets)
• Individually wrapped candy
• Chocolates
• Chocolate bunnies
• Jelly beans,
• Robin's Eggs
• Sour Patch Kids
• Sour candies of all types
• Peeps
• Sweet tarts

McMillan adds that there are other items that you can donate as well to help fill out the Easter baskets. She is asking for people to donate toothpaste and toothbrushes for the baskets so kids can take care of their teeth after enjoying the candy.

Here are some ideas for other things that could be donated during the Easter basket candy drive:

• Individual small bags of chips
• Individual small bags of nuts
• Little toys
• Any other items that would help a child

McMillan says any and all items are so appreciated. They have baskets and plastic eggs, but they really need donations to fill up hundreds of baskets this year.

Once again, you can drop off your donated items here at KPEL. We are located at 1749 Bertrand Drive in Lafayette. We are open for drop-off donations from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Multiple agencies throughout the area like Love of People and The Boys' and Girls' Club of Acadiana will benefit from program.