Law firm brings Halloween spirit to Orlando Day Nursery students

ORLANDO, Fla. – Students at Orlando Day Nursery are in the Halloween spirit ready with help from law firm Holland and Knight.

The law firm collected costumes for more than 50 children at the Orlando Day Nursery. Students will wear those costumes to trick-or-treat at the firm's downtown offices Halloween morning Wednesday.
 
"The kids just get so excited and it's just a small little thing we can do to make the kids' lives a little better, so we're happy to do it," said Kyla Baker, from Holland and Knight.
 
The Orlando Day Nursery is the oldest nonprofit in the southeast. It was established in 1921 by World War I widows who needed child care.
 
"We served children from the Salvation Army that are directly across the lake from us. The Coalition for the Homeless, just families in need and Parramore and Pine Hills. We also have families who come here just because they love diversity," said Amy Schipper, development director of Orlando Day Nursery.
 
Every Halloween morning, Holland and Knight sends a bus to pick up the kids. From there, they trick-or-treat on all three floors of the law firm. The partnership between Holland and Knight and the Orlando Day Nursery began 20 years ago, when the child care center was located downtown.
 
"Someone noticed that some of the kids didn't come with costumes, so we felt like we wanted all of the kids to be able to celebrate Halloween, and that's how we started buying costumes for the kids," said Baker.
 
Schipper said the mission of Orlando Day Nursery is to care for the whole family. And providing a safe Halloween experience is part of that.
 
"A lot of our kids might be from neighborhoods we think of as challenging or maybe there's a lot of crime and it's unsafe to go outside or maybe their parents won't let them go outside in the evening time," Schipper said. "So, being able to go somewhere that's safe and they can have the same experience that all the other children are having is super important."
 
Orlando Day Nursery is always in need of volunteers and supplies. Anyone who would like to donate or volunteer can find more information here.