Halloween is less than two weeks away and most of us are already getting set. Candy is being bought and costumes are being prepared, as local children get ready to go trick-or-treating all over town.

Most of them will end up with so much candy that they won’t know what to do with it. There will be candies that they won’t like or they may just have too much for one person to eat.

That’s why the Annual Halloween Candy Buyback program, hosted by Wood Orthodontics and Children’s Dentistry, is such a great idea. The program allows children to give away candy they do not want, which goes to our troops overseas. The children also get to write a letter thanking the troops for what they do for all of us and, in return, the children actually get paid for their candy.

The children get paid $1 per pound for their first five pounds of candy donated. The classroom that donates the most candy will be thrown a pizza and ice cream party sponsored by Papa Johns and Sweet Advantages.

Children can drop off candy at Wood Orthodontics Nov. 3 to Nov. 5 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and at Children’s Dentistry from Nov. 3 to Nov. 6 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The idea came from a program called Operation Gratitude, where individuals and organizations can send care packages to troops overseas, and it’s a fantastic idea.

Most of us love candy — whether it is butterscotch, tootsie rolls or other kinds of chocolate — but at some point we all reach a point where we can’t eat anymore.  Why not donate that candy to a worthy cause? We encourage everyone with extra candy to do so.