Candy buyback saves teeth, cheers up troops
MARYSVILLE, Wash. - A local orthodontist is buying up hundreds of pounds of leftover Halloween candy from kids to save their teeth from decay - and then sending it to troops overseas to help boost morale.
Dr. Jason Bourne says he spends hours fixing the damage done by too many sweets. So he goes as far as to pay his patients for their leftover Halloween candy.
So far this year he's bought basketfuls of sweet treats.
"Oh boy. We've got a little bit of everything," he says, sorting through one basket of candy.
And then he ships it all off to Iraq and Afghanistan - because what may just be another piece of candy to kids, may be a real treat to our troops.
"I thought it would be really neat," Dr. Bourne says. "Growing up, my Mom would buy back my candy back from me after Halloween, and I thought how fun to do for the rest of my patients."
Dr. Bourne started collecting candy six years ago. Back then he got about 100 pounds of candy.
Last year he got more than 700 pounds, and this year he's collected about 500 pounds - so far - with another week to go.
He's received lots of letters from troops overseas, saying how much it's encouraging soldiers. More than 100,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq, and many of them won't be home for the holidays.
"He really cares ... like when I first got my braces on, he called me to see how I was doing and if everything was OK," says Hunter Jordanger, one of his patients.
And she likes the idea of soldiers getting the candy.
"I think it's really good because it shows them that people care about them," she says.
Dr. Jason Bourne says he spends hours fixing the damage done by too many sweets. So he goes as far as to pay his patients for their leftover Halloween candy.
So far this year he's bought basketfuls of sweet treats.
"Oh boy. We've got a little bit of everything," he says, sorting through one basket of candy.
And then he ships it all off to Iraq and Afghanistan - because what may just be another piece of candy to kids, may be a real treat to our troops.
"I thought it would be really neat," Dr. Bourne says. "Growing up, my Mom would buy back my candy back from me after Halloween, and I thought how fun to do for the rest of my patients."
Dr. Bourne started collecting candy six years ago. Back then he got about 100 pounds of candy.
Last year he got more than 700 pounds, and this year he's collected about 500 pounds - so far - with another week to go.
He's received lots of letters from troops overseas, saying how much it's encouraging soldiers. More than 100,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq, and many of them won't be home for the holidays.
"He really cares ... like when I first got my braces on, he called me to see how I was doing and if everything was OK," says Hunter Jordanger, one of his patients.
And she likes the idea of soldiers getting the candy.
"I think it's really good because it shows them that people care about them," she says.