It's also a time when motorists' eyes may be tricked, and children may not be as visible to drivers, but Traci Ariss would like to change that.

Ariss, an Almaden mom of two, is on the hunt for hosts, not ghosts, to hand out glow necklaces to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. The green-glowing rings serve two purposes, she says.

"For safety, it's visibility. If you're driving down the street and you see all these little green rings glowing, you pay attention," she says. "And it focuses on making a connection with safety."

Ariss is co-executive director of Safe from the Start San Jose, a nonprofit organization focused on children's safety, literacy and nutrition. Throughout the city of San Jose, Safe from the Start will be stationing host sites at homes, churches, schools, community centers, businesses, or anywhere that children can go on Halloween night and pick up a glow necklace. Last year the organization passed out more than 30,000 glow necklaces and 5,000 magnets listing frequently called emergency numbers. This year, children will receive a necklace—and the group hopes to distribute 40,000 this time around—that they can slip around their necks, making them more visible as they travel from door-to-door, and they'll also receive a card with safety information and a bookmark.

The bookmark draws attention to another of the organization's passions, literacy.

"I like the idea of giving the bookmark; again, there is a message about literacy and reading," says Meri Maben; an Almaden resident and aide to Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose), she has signed up to host a site for the event. Maben says she got involved in the organization, now in its second year, over the summer because of her interest in children's safety. With four kids of her own, she says, she recognizes the need to give parents information on how to keep their children safe.

The safety information card that kids will receive in their bags along with the glow necklace is meant to be read not just by the trick-or-treaters but by their parents as they sift through their children's sugary bounty at the end of the treat-begging evening.

Ariss says there is no charge to be a host, and the materials will be provided in advance of Halloween—including fliers to advertise the event and tell children and their parents where the host site is so they can make that their first stop of the evening—a week in advance. Volunteer host sites will also be given a self-supporting sign identifying it as a Safe from the Start San Jose location site, which may also include the name of a sponsor, which could also be a host site.

Sponsors of the program are also needed, Ariss said. The cost to be a sponsor is $250, and the fee buys 100 each of the glow necklaces, safety cards and bookmarks. Sponsors also get community recognition and advertising visibility in three ways, Ariss says: the sign in front of the host site will indicate that the site is being sponsored by the donor; the advance fliers will state the sponsor's name; and the sponsor has the opportunity to include a business card or coupon that can be attached to the safety information card.

While the Halloween event draws attention to safety for all kids, the other events by Safe from the Start San Jose target a more specific demographic—areas with low literacy rates and low incomes. This past spring its Book Circus, which was held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, brought in 5,000 people. The event featured a construction equipment "petting zoo" that drew the attention of both dads and moms, Ariss said, and Safe from the Start San Jose handed out plastic hardhats and backpacks, had sports celebrities reading to kids, gave away lots of free books, and encouraged people to sign up for a public library card.

The third piece the organization focuses on is nutrition, and it pays special attention to the underprivileged children whose parents can't afford nutritious meals for them every day. Ariss says there are shoulder periods between the time the regular school year lets out and summer school begins and ends, and then the new school year starts up again, when kids are always able to get free or discounted lunches that they normally would get through the school system. Raising funds to pay for those absent lunches is another focus, and between June and July 2004 the organization helped fund 50,000 free lunches.

To find out more about Safe from the Start San Jose or sign up to be a host or sponsor of a Halloween Safety Center, visit the website at www.safefromthestartsanjose.org or email Ariss at tariss@safefromthestartsanjose.org.