Pumpkin Patch to grow funds for church's mission work
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 12, 2016 12:48 PM
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News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Barbara Kornegay places a sign announcing First United Methodist Church's Pumpkin Patch fundraiser in front of the Sleep Inn on N.C. 55 West. It will be held Monday, Oct. 17, through Monday, Oct. 31, in the open area in front of the hotel.
MOUNT OLIVE -- The Great Pumpkin from the "Peanuts" comic strip might not put in an appearance at the First United Methodist Church's Pumpkin Patch, but there will be plenty of pumpkins large and small to choose from.
There are expected to be some gourds and Indian corn, too.
The cost will depend on the size and will range from 75 cents for the very small ones on up to maybe $20 or $30.
And a portion of the proceeds will help raise funds for the mission work of the church around the world and in the local community.
The church's Pumpkin Patch will be open from Monday, Oct. 17, through Monday, Oct. 31, in the open area in front of the Sleep Inn on N.C. 55 West.
"That is about 30 yards by 15 yards, so we will have like five rows of 10 pallets with 6 feet of space in between so they can get the lawnmower in here because we are going to be out here for a good two weeks," said Barbara Kornegay, one of the event organizers. "Our pumpkins will be delivered here Saturday, Oct. 15. So that will give us a little time to get them in place."
There will be plenty of free parking so that people can walk around and look at what they want, Mrs. Kornegay said.
"We have a sign-up chart at the church so that we will try to have two people on site from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday noon to 8 p.m.," she said. "We will be happy to have volunteers help us keep the pumpkin patch open on these days.
"The real purpose of the Pumpkin Patch is to raise funds for our missions. We have a Sunday night youth and children's program, we call it FUNKY. We also have a great deal of outreach in our community with our community dinners at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday nights of the month. Our Peanut Crew does tremendous work reaching out into the community to provide outreach."
But the missions for all Methodist churches reach around the world as well, she said.
"We contribute probably in the neighborhood of $40,000 a year just to missions," Mrs. Kornegay said.
There is another side to the project as well.
"If we have people out here from our church, and we have people who are coming in as customers to get a pumpkin, we hopefully will make some new Christian friends, or some people who might want to come to the church," she said. "That will be a benefit also of having this."
A special Pumpkin Patch for Kids will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, featuring games and Pickle Train rides for children.
"If they want to wear their Halloween costumes that is fine, too," she said. "It will just be kids' activities right here."
There are thousands of organizations across the nation doing Pumpkin Patch programs, she said.
"A lot of them are churches," she said. "Some of them are Boy Scouts and other nonprofit agencies. The Pumpkin Patch USA people are really incredible.
"It is all over North Carolina. In fact, I got this idea traveling for the University (of Mount Olive). I was going to the northern part of the state, and we drove through two or three places that had pumpkins. I said, 'You all, we have got to do this.'"
The organization, founded more than 40 years ago, is headquartered in Greensboro. When the program started the pumpkins actually came from a North Carolina farm."
However, after suffering a devastating crop loss in 1989 because of Hurricane Hugo, the organization moved the farming operation to the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico and now 95 percent of the workers are Native Americans.
"They load up the pumpkins on a big truck, and they do this all over the country," Mrs. Kornegay said.
There is no upfront cost to the church for the pumpkins, she said.
"We keep up with our sales every day," she said. "At the end of the sale then there is a calculation format that we use. We keep a percentage of the money and then they get the rest. So it is not a bad deal because nobody has to put up any money to start with. Of course the company does because it has to get the pumpkins shipped here. It is a real exciting concept."
There is no charge for any pumpkins that rot, she said.
"We hope people will hold off on their pumpkin purchases and resist buying them at local grocery stores," Mrs. Kornegay said. "Our pumpkins will fund many worthwhile projects in the community, and they will make a great addition to community decoration projects and dinner tables for fall holidays."
For more information about the Pumpkin Patch program visit www.pumpkinsusa.com.