Patterson Rotary Club Brings Pumpkin Patch To Bronx Schools

The Rotary Club of Patterson held it’s Annual Fall Pumpkin Festival for the children of Fairmont Neighborhood School PS 314 and Samara Community School on Vyse Avenue in The Bronx. Their goal: to bring the pumpkin patch to the schoolchildren. Many of us up here in Putnam County may take for granted a visit to our pumpkin patches, but most of these children have never been before.

Patterson Rotary members departed Putnam County under the darkness of early morning on Friday, October 14th, in a parade of vehicles led by a truck loaded with enough pumpkins for approximately 350 children as well as hay bales, corn stalks, and a few tasty treats. School children from Pre-K to Fifth Grade anxiously waited as Patterson Rotary Club members set up the pumpkin patch on the concrete playground, complete with Halloween decorations.

The Annual Fall Pumpkin Festival began as an idea that club member and Putnam residents, Jason Maxwell and his wife Hilda Delgado, brought to the Rotary Club of Patterson. Delgado teaches Pre-K at The Fairmont School.  They felt that the children of that particular school were missing out on the child-hood experience of pumpkin picking.  The majority of children attending Fairmont School and Samara Community School live below the poverty line and would otherwise never have this experience. Many had never even seen a pumpkin outside of pictures and media.

“I am just so overjoyed to bring my favorite part of the fall season to these kids. I wouldn't have been able to bring this idea to fruition if it wasn't for my amazing friends in the Patterson Rotary, I hope this remains an enjoyable event for the students and Rotarians for years to come,” said Jason Maxwell.

One-by-one, classes came down to the pumpkin ‘patch’, and each child chose a pumpkin. Each teacher also received a much bigger pumpkin for their classrooms to enjoy. After that, Patterson Rotary Club treated the children to donut holes and a cup of apple cider. For some of the kids, the cider was a new taste sensation!

Fairmont School Principal, Dr. Scott Wolfson, as well as teachers and staff of both Fairmont and Samara School were very welcoming of Patterson Rotary, and grateful for the opportunity that the Club brought to the children.

The Annual Fall Pumpkin Festival is a favorite event for the members of Patterson Rotary Club. “It really reflects what our Club is all about - when a member comes to us and tells us there is a need that we can fill, we all pitch in and do it,” said Rotarian, Paula Hernandez. “And it’s so wonderful when we see the kids’ faces light up when they see the pumpkin patch.”


For additional information, please contact Paloma Domenico, Public Relations Chairman for the Patterson Rotary via the contact details below.

For more information, please visit www.PattersonRotary.org or  https://www.facebook.com/PattersonRotaryNY/

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Submitted by Brewster, NY

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