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| Trick-or-treaters dive for candy. |
On Wednesday, Oct. 29, Drake University hosted the 21st annual Halloween Hoops Party for Des Moines area children ages 3–11. Halloween Hoops is an event sponsored by the Drake Law School Student Bar Association and Des Moines Branch of the NAACP with support from Drake’s Law School Public Service Scholars, Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning, Delta Theta Phi, and the Public Interest Law Association.
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| Drake Men’s and Women’s Track Coach Natasha Kaiser Brown, the HoopsMeister Professor Lovell, Director of the Drake Relays Brian Brown, and David Walker. |
This year’s event brought in over 160 children, not including parents, grandparents and older kids. The party featured games, Halloween music and decorations, pizza, candy, and a face-painting station. Each child who attended received a bag of goodies, pizza, cookies, apples and juice or water. In addition, Delta Dental gave 150 toothbrushes, Drake Athletics contributed athletic socks for each child, and several departments at Drake provided additional give away items.
It is the Public Service Scholars from Drake Law School who provide much of the background work for the event each year. Responsibilities range from soliciting candy and support to filling treat bags and making calls to area agencies/schools/organizations.
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| L to R: Kelly Nuckolls; Leah Carter; Brandon Hommer; Lynn Vogan; Emily Rouse; Micah Johnson; Cedric Adams; Hannah Kerling ; Professor Russ Lovell; Rob Conklin; Tayler Haggerty; David Albrecht; Jenna Bishop. |
This year, those ten Public Service Scholars included David Albrecht, Leah Carter, Poppy Davis, Tayler Haggerty, Brandon Hommer, Micah Johnson, Matt Knipe, Kelly Nuckolls, Emily Rouse, and Alexis Rowe.
“The Public Service Scholars and other students who made it possible were glad and proud to be doing something big like this for the community,” said David Walker, Dwight D. Opperman Distinguished Professor of Law and coordinator of the Public Service program. “It was fun for all of us to be a part of.”
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| Public Service Scholars Tayler Haggerty and Kelly Nuckolls with one of the Halloween Trick-or-Treaters. |
For the first time, the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) was in attendance to offer free legal representation to individuals, couples, and families in need of help in resolving federal tax issues (IRS). In addition to the LITC, Head Start, the NAACP, and Drake Athletics were also available as a resources for attendees.
Year after year, Halloween Hoops provides a fun, safe event for young people in the greater Des Moines community, but also further strengthens connections between Drake and Des Moines and brings together various departments on Drake’s campus.