Correction: Liz Carrasco is not the pastor of the Church–she is the coordinator for the costume drive. The church’s pastor is Doug Manson.
When Liz Carrasco’s daughter approached her teary eyed and asked her whether or not Halloween was canceled, Carrasco knew she had to do something for the hundreds of evacuated families staying in community centers and churches in Petaluma.
Carrasco decided to start a Halloween costume drive over the weekend, Oct. 26, for kids, teens and adults.
“It was a couple of nights ago and my kids were getting ready for Halloween and I thought a lot of kids are going to miss Halloween,” Carrasco said.
New or gently used costumes for any age can be brought to the Hillside Church of the Nazarene at 2689 Adobe Road in Petaluma until 5 p.m. today, Oct. 30.
Carrasco said the costumes are going to be brought to evacuated families at the Petaluma Veterans Hall, the Petaluma Community Center and the Petaluma Valley Baptist Church.
“We are trying to get as many as we can,” Carrasco said, estimating that there are about 100 kids at the three shelters.
Carrasco said she hopes to bring some sense of normalcy to kids whose costumes were left behind during the evacuation.
“For kids it is hard,” she said. “We want to celebrate these special moments and holidays and help them to feel like the week hasn’t been stolen from them.”
It is the little things that can help, Carrasco noted. When her aunt lost her home in the 2017 wildfires, Carrasco created a yarn drive to give her family something familiar to do.
“It is one small act of generosity to brighten somebody’s day,” Carrasco said.
