MONTOUR COUNTY, Pa. — Children of all ages look forward to dressing up and getting candy on Halloween. However, kids in the hospital don't get the opportunity to go out trick-or-treating. That's why a few Bucknell University Men's Basketball team members stopped by Janet Weis Children's Hospital near Danville.
"So we don't do candy because a lot of the kids can't eat candy or they're waiting to go to surgery and have to not eat, so we do all kinds of little trinkets, and balloons, and stuffed animals, and stuff like that that they can play with instead of eat," said Maggie Heimbuch, Geisinger Child Life Program Manager.
This is called reverse trick-or-treating, and the treats are brought to the kids in the hospital. Bucknell Men's Basketball players and hospital staff also get into the spirit of Halloween by dressing up.
"It's great to be back here, being a part of something that's bigger than basketball, you know, just being able to spread some joy to these kids who definitely need some help, so it's great to be out here as a team," said Brady Muller, Bucknell Men's Basketball Player.
The reverse trick-or-treating tradition between Geisinger and the basketball team goes back many years.
"We wanna make sure that we—we actually normalize some of the stuff in the hospital, a lot of the kids aren't able to go out—even if they were home, their immune systems are not able to let them be well enough to go outside," said Heimbuch.
Child life specialists say the patients look forward to it. Some even dress up, like seven-year-old Lydia Lynch.
"She did pick this one out before we came, but she gained three new costumes being here, so she's very excited, she has got a Trolls costume, a clown costume, and an Ariel costume that we are now going to be apparently transitioning into today," said Marissa Lynch, Lydia's Mother.
Despite being in the hospital on Halloween, every child here had a smile on their face.