Annual Candy Gram Brings Festivity To School Community

The junction of hallways on the second floor of the Root building are rarely crowded, but when organizers of the annual Candy Gram began to sell small note cards with space to write the recipient, sender, and a short message, students rushed to the temporary booth and hastily bought and filled out cards for friends and teachers alike.

Organized by two advisory groups, Ms. Smith’s and Mr. Claire’s, the Candy Gram, a longstanding tradition at Fay, is a service opportunity that lets students purchase and send candy canes to anyone that they would like to send a festive message. For an entire week, hundreds of candy grams are sold for a dollar each, then the advisees busily attach candy canes to each card, sort them alphabetically into baskets, and, finally, deliver the candy canes.

All of the money raised is then donated to support the Special Olympics, a non-profit dedicated to providing training and competition opportunities for athletes with physical and/or intellectual disabilities.

Many students, including Maddie Lee ’17, say that despite the cold weather, they feel uplifted when they receive positive and heartwarming messages from their friends.

“I think the candy gram tradition is really fun for all the students and faculty. It provides an easy method for all of us to receive and to give, and it spreads the festive vibe in the community. Also, it makes me feel even better when I remember that all the money is going to such a good cause,” said Lee.

This service is especially meaningful for boarders because during the winter vacation they cannot give presents or wish their friends a happy holiday season, and because they have no place or time outside of school to go on an extensive shopping spree, they need a fast and easy way in school to send their friends greetings. The Candy Grams allow them to do this all while supporting a worthy cause!

Erin '18