WANT TO DO something different this Halloween? How about trick-or-treating for canned goods instead of (or at least in addition to) candy?

Senior Rachel Hurley and junior Rachel Hyman are looking for volunteers to join them on a Halloween expedition to help the Eastern Illinois Foodbank.

According to Hyman, participants will meet at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday in front of Uni. From there, they will drive to the "state streets" area of Urbana, specifically McCullough Street and five streets that branch off it: Washington, Nevada, Oregon, California, and Illinois.

"We'll be splitting up into groups of probably five people, depending on how many people come, each of which will have a car (to put the cans in) and will take one street," Hyman said in an e-mail to the Gargoyle.

"Each group will split further into two to get both sides of the street, and from there it'll basically be like trick-or-treating: We'll ring doorbells and ask for cans. We went on Sunday to distribute fliers to the area we're going to, so that people can be prepared for us and hopefully have cans set out to give."

Hyman and Hurley don't have a specific goal in mind for how many cans they would like to collect.

"We just hope to get a lot of support from people in the neighborhood — even if they only have one or two cans to donate, everything helps," Hyman said. "Also, we really want Uni students, no matter how much they normally volunteer, to get involved in this. Hopefully some students will do this and will want to continue volunteering and getting involved in the community."

Danville High School is doing a similar project, according to Hyman. Anyone who wants more information about the Uni version is encouraged to e-mail Hyman (rhyman@uni.uiuc.edu) or Hurley (rhurley2@uni.uiuc.edu).

"This was Rachel Hurley's idea originally, and then it just sort of evolved into what it is now — an easy way for students to get involved and make a difference," Hyman said. "Just spending an hour or two trick-or-treating for cans can benefit hungry people enormously.

"We really encourage people who aren't doing anything that night to come out and help us — everyone is helping to make a difference and reach out to the community, so the more people we get, the better."