By: Ella Kapfhammer
Would you pay hundreds of dollars for a pumpkin? Many Bellbrook community members did last week. Bell Creek Intermediate held their ninth annual Pumpkin Auction on October 14. This event allows fifth grade students to decorate pumpkins and a live auctioneer auctions them off to community members to raise money for A Special Wish, Dayton.
In 2017, $4,157 was raised so the teachers decided to keep the fundraiser going. They discussed how to improve it, and now use a slideshow to display pictures of the pumpkins and include whether it is real or artificial. A few years later they added face painting, popcorn, and food trucks. These changes have made the event more enjoyable for the students and families who attend.
Scott Anderson, a fifth grade teacher who plays a large role in the auction, has had the opportunity to watch the fundraiser grow over the years. Anderson’s favorite part of the auction is the reactions of the students and others who are bidding. “I love when people from our community are bidding against one another for the same pumpkin,” Anderson said. “It’s fun to see a neighbor bidding, only to look over and see that the other person bidding the price up is their neighbor or friend. It makes me laugh each year.” Anderson explains how most students have never been to a real auction, so he loves observing the looks on their faces when the bidding begins.
Bellbrook community members will pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars for these pumpkins to support a good cause. There have been four pumpkins with bids over $1000 in the auction’s history. Of these generous bids, the highest recorded was $1,800. A grandmother bought that hamburger-themed pumpkin for her grandson.
Including the $14,260 from this year alone, the Pumpkin Auction has raised more than $83,000 for A Special Wish, Dayton, over nine years. A Special Wish Foundation is a nonprofit organization that grants wishes to children and young adults with life-threatening medical conditions.
“I think the auction can encourage [5th grade students] to look beyond their own daily lives and realize the small difference they can make for critically ill children,” Anderson said. “It allows them to take their artistic ability of designing and crafting a pumpkin and turn that into a lesson of empathy for others.”
Senior Lauren Fleck participated in the Pumpkin Auction in 2020. The class of 2027 was one of the first groups to experience the event. Fleck had the opportunity to watch her fifth grade Supportive Peer experience it six years later. She volunteered as a face painter at the auction, but was also able to sit next to her peer for most of the night. “As we watched pumpkins be auctioned off for hundreds of dollars, it was so heart-warming to know the money was going to such a great cause,” Fleck said. “It was so enjoyable to watch the smiles on the kids’ faces when they realized they won the pumpkin!” Fleck not only enjoyed the fundraiser in her fifth grade year, but she also loved seeing the joy it brought her Supportive Peer.
This Bellbrook tradition has turned into more than just a fundraiser. “For our community and school district, it has turned into a festive annual event that brings together families and neighbors for the purpose of giving back and helping others!” Anderson said.
