Y’alloween: Spreading Halloween Magic, One Costume at a Time

Texas A&M student launches ‘Y’alloween’ nonprofit to give free Halloween costumes to kids in need

A Texas teen’s love for Halloween turns into a mission to help kids celebrate in style

Y’alloween: Spreading Halloween Magic

Halloween might be full of candy, costumes, and fun for most kids—but for some families, the cost can take the “treat” out of trick-or-treating.

That’s where Houston native BJ Rottinghaus comes in. As a high school freshman, he started a nonprofit called Y’alloween, which collects and donates brand-new Halloween costumes to children whose families can’t afford them.

“I just love Halloween. I love going out and trick-or-treating. And it’s probably been my favorite holiday since I was like 10 or so,” BJ shared.

That simple love for Halloween became something much bigger.

“These costumes are very expensive. They can be $50, $60 a costume. And for one night, that can be very prohibitive for people to buy. So, I decided to, you know, kind of give this a shot, see if I could make something happen and help some people out,” he explained.

At first, Y’alloween started small—just about 50 costumes in its first year. But each year, it grew.

“The first initial year was only like 50-ish costumes. And then we sort of added one, I sort of, you know, we added one or two organizations a year,” BJ said. “So, it went from like one for like 50 to about 150. And then to about 250. And then last year we did about 400.”

Now, Y’alloween has expanded beyond Houston to Austin and College Station.

“Thankfully, we found people like, kind of quickly,” BJ said. “We didn’t think we were going to expand very much this year.”

Now a freshman at Texas A&M, BJ has even bigger dreams.

“We want to, you know, be in Dallas. We want to be eventually in, you know, Lubbock, Amarillo, El Paso. And those are very far,” he said.

Houston student’s Halloween costume nonprofit expands to new Texas cities

Through Amazon wish lists and local donations, Y’alloween gathers costumes, adds small goodies, and delivers them to shelters and domestic violence centers. BJ and his volunteers don’t meet the children, but they know their efforts make a big difference.

“It means so much to me that I’m able to put this change kind of out there and kind of spread what I love to do, like what I loved to do as a kid,” BJ said.

Thanks to BJ’s hard work and community support, hundreds of Texas kids get to enjoy Halloween with confidence, excitement, and smiles—all dressed up for a night of fun.

BJ’s story shows how one person’s passion can light up entire communities. Turning his love of Halloween into a nonprofit was not only kind-hearted but inspiring. Y’alloween proves that even small ideas, when filled with heart, can grow into something that changes lives—one costume at a time.

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