Spring Break
Habitat sells pumpkins to build houses
By: Brooke Lein
Issue date: 10/28/08 Section: News
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The pumpkin patch is outside of Covenant Presbyterian Church on Rock Prairie Road, on weekdays from 12:30 p.m. to nightfall, and on weekends from 9:30 a.m. to dark through Oct. 31.
A fundraising company called Pumpkins USA ships thousands of pumpkins to the chapter each year, and 45 percent of the proceeds are donated directly to Aggie Habitat.
Pumpkin Patch is one of the organization's largest fundraising initiatives, second only to Shack-a-Thon, an event in April 2009.
"Last year [Pumpkin Patch] raised $5,000," said Aggie Habitat director of special events, Ryan McClaine, a senior biomedical science major. "This year we're hoping to kick that number up to $7,000 or $8,000."
The cost of pumpkins ranges from 50 cents to $22, and the customers have an option of large, small, squash or turk pumpkins.
"We started with 2,800 pumpkins, and now we're down to only 300," McClaine said. "So, we've sold a lot of them."
The occasion features an array of events designed for children and classroom students, including face painting, a bean-bag toss, story time and pumpkin painting.
The Pumpkin Patch contains a medium sized, castle-like structure with the words "Let's Go Fishing" written colorfully on the front. McClaine said children visiting the Patch cast a toy fishing pole over the boundary of the structure, and a volunteer dressed in a gorilla suit places candy on the ends of each pole.
Michael Longoria, president of Aggie and senior electrical engineering major, said Pumpkin Patch is important for three reasons: the event is a big step toward sponsoring a home for a deserving family, it provides a fun and unique way for members of the community to come together in support of those in need and it is a means for members of Aggie Habitat to form bonds and get to know one another on a more personal level.
Aggie Habitat is a student-operated chapter of the Bryan/College Station Habitat affiliate, which works to raise money and awareness for housing construction for underprivileged families.
"Habitat builds anywhere from two to five bedroom homes," said Dena Freeman, director of communications for the Bryan/College Station habitat affiliate. "Families qualify for a certain number of bedrooms depending on how many people are in the family, in addition to the age and sex of the children."
There are more than 300 active, due-paying members in the campus organization.
Since the group's inception, Aggie Habitat has dedicated time and effort to serving the community by raising awareness about poverty housing and raising funds to provide homes for those living in substandard, inferior environments.
"[Aggie Habitat] is one of the largest and most active campus chapters in the entire United States," Freeman said.
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