SUMTER, S.C. — As the Halloween season wraps up, a church in Sumter is preparing to make a big donation to local charities. The church hosts an annual pumpkin patch where all proceeds go back into the community.
“Any pumpkin patch, they’re ready. They're ready to go,” Greenville resident Annabelle Sorrells explains about her children. “So that was the first thing on their mind this morning.”
Lillian and Hank were excited to come pick out pumpkins at the Aldersgate Pumpkin Patch. Sorrells says she makes the visit to her hometown every year to see the patch.
“It's fun to come to this for a church that's been here for a long time in Sumter and grandma gets a kick out of it too,” Sorrells explains.
“It's so joyful in the pumpkin patch,” Aldersgate United Methodist Pastor Laura Whitt shares. “People come in and they're happy. They're in a good mood. We see a lot of people who have been back year after year after year.”
People who stop by knowing that their proceeds are going back into the community, Whitt says.
“This is a good way for us to give back to our community and the community is what makes it possible for us to contribute to them in this way,” Whitt details.
The church’s Office and Events Manager Brooke Staniec agrees.
“When people hear or read the signs, and they find out it's for like a local charity, they're like well turn my $12 pumpkin into a $15 one, you know, keep that and they donate more and more and more to go to the charities,” Staniec elaborates.
Local organizations like Christian Charities of Sumter, a local food bank run by Director Joan Mudd.
“When we get things like that, you know, a big donation from them that really, really helps everything,” Mudd shares.
Right now, Mudd says donations are lower than normal while the community need is greater than she’s seen recently. This means that the pumpkin patch donation is coming at the right time, Mudd explains.
It’s also a way to bring the community together, she says.
“People are willing to pay a little bit more, maybe, for the pumpkin knowing that it’s going to a good cause. And it does. It brings the community together,” Mudd tells me. “It does show the love that’s in the community and we do see a lot of that.”
Including volunteers like Charlie Bell and Kathy Goldstein, who have been out selling pumpkins at the patch every day this season.
“It’s definitely good for us to do missions like that and knowing that it’s going to a good cause,” Goldstein shares. “I mean, that’s good. That's probably why I'm out here all the time. I just love doing this.
“I love it!” Bell adds. “You’re helping the neighborhood.”
The church says it has sold nearly 10,000 pumpkins so far this season, and any leftovers will be donated to a local farm.
The church has also hosted over 1,500 students from local schools across Sumter County, Staniec says. All the field trips are free, and each child gets a pumpkin.
In addition to the schools, adult day centers and special education programs have also been taking field trips to the patch this season, Staniec says.
“That is probably my favorite,” Staniec explains. “Because they are so appreciative. They are so excited. They're so genuine. That's my favorite.”
The rest of the proceeds will go to Sumter United Minstries, another local non-profit. According to Staniec, the church will plan to donate about $7,000 each to the charities.