Operation Gratitude is an organization that shows support and appreciation to the troops serving the United States. This organization has an annual Candy Buy Back Program, and Wilson Orthodontics has been part of this program for the last five years.

This year, Wilson Orthodontics wanted to continue to support the troops by collecting candy and also by involving the local city elementary schools.

Four Gainesville City elementary schools participated in the contest: Centennial Arts Academy, Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy, Fair Street Elementary and New Holland Knowledge Academy.

Every classroom was asked to collect as much candy as they could to send to the troops overseas. The classroom that brought in the most candy by weight won a pizza party, and the school which donated the most candy by weight won $1,000.

Enota won the $1,000 after collecting 305 pounds of candy. The four schools combined to donate 620 pounds of candy and 450 letters of gratitude to troops.

Wilson Orthodontics delivered the donation to Operation Gratitude, which will repackage the candy and letters and add other items to send to the men and women serving the United States overseas. 

Editor's note: A previous version of this article included an inaccurate award amount in the caption.