The Black United Students organization of Marshall University has created a Halloween candy donation drive that started Oct. 1 and will run through Oct. 22.

The candy drive is sponsored by the Center for African American Students and will benefit children through the Marcum Terrace Family Resource Center’s Fall Fest.

Marcus Williams, a Marshall student with BUS, said he thinks Marcum Terrace is one of the areas in Huntington with the most need for a community effort like this.

“Marcum Terrace is one of the more underserved areas of our community, and we just want to make sure that they have a good Halloween,” Williams said.

Williams said he thinks the endeavors like this are simple but extremely important.

“This means a lot to us, because it doesn’t take a whole lot of people to make a simple effort or to make somebody’s holiday better,” Williams said. “For us, it’s a simple fact of if we all give a little bit, or if everyone contributes a little bit, we can make a large contribution and help more people.”

The candy drive is one of many similar events organized by BUS throughout the school year, such as clothing drives as winter approaches, but Williams said it particularly resonates with BUS because it is centered around children.

“The Black United Students are firm believers that everybody should have the same types of experiences,” Williams said. “We don’t want anybody to have a bad time on Halloween, especially as a kid who doesn’t understand financial stress and other things of that nature. We always want them to have the best time possible so if that means we have to help them by donating candy then that’s what we’ll do.”

Huntington resident Marissa Cunningham said she loves to see people in the community trying to support the youth of the area.

“It’s always something great to see whenever people take the initiative to try to support Huntington’s kids,” Cunningham said. “Especially in Huntington, where it’s so easy for kids to slip through the cracks, little things like this can make a huge difference.”

Donations for the candy drive can be brought to room 1W25 of the Memorial Student Center from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and anyone seeking more information about Black United Students can come to the office of the Center for African American Students.

Derek Gilbert can be contacted at [email protected].