Thursday, October 27, 2005

Dentist offers cash for Halloween candy

Farmington Hills orthodontist pays $2 a pound for treats, donates same amount to charity.

By Delores Patterson / The Detroit News

Candy buy back • The dental office of Dr. Thomas Jusino will buy candy collected by kids who went trick-or-treating on Halloween night. • The buy back will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 1 from 2-5 p.m. Kids are encouraged to come in their costumes. • The office is at 30330 W. 12 Mile Road, between Orchard Lake and Middle Belt. Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

FARMINGTON HILLS -- Once kids have collected all of their Halloween candy Monday night they can look forward to cashing it all in the next day.

Dr. Thomas Jusino, an orthodontist in Farmington Hills will pay $2 per pound for every bag of candy children bring to his dental office Tuesday as part of a "Buying Back Halloween Candy" program started five years ago.

It all got started when Dr. Jusino and his staff brainstormed ways to get children not to eat all of their loot from Halloween since candy and braces typically don't mix well.

The program is open to all children regardless of whether they are a patient at the private practice on 12 Mile.

"The only thing we could come up with that we thought children might want more than candy is money. So we offered them cash in exchange and for some kids it's definitely a motivator. And we have been gaining momentum every year," Dr. Jusino said.

Last year trick-or-treaters brought in about 917 pounds of candy resulting in $1,834 for children's piggy banks, and each year the dental office has broken the previous year's record.

Children will not only take precautions with their teeth and line their pockets by participating in the program, but they'll also help put money in charity coffers.

The money Jusino's office pays out for collecting candy is matched dollar for dollar to support two charities. This year, the money will be split between the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund and the Weinstein Theatre Enrichment Fund in honor of Judith Weinstein, 49, and her two sons, Alex, 12, and Sam, 9, who were killed in an automobile accident in May while driving to their dental appointment at his office.

In addition to sending money through the American Red Cross for hurricane victims, some of the collected candy will be sent to children in shelters.

You can reach Delores Patterson at (248) 647-7225 or dpatterson@detnews.com.