Fifth graders auction pumpkins for United Way

Morris Grove Elementary School fifth graders have been rolling up their sleeves and rolling out their paintbrushes in anticipation of this year’s pumpkin auction.

The school will host its third pumpkin auction starting today at 2:30 p.m. in the front lobby. The auctions will run until Oct. 28. All 25 pumpkins were hand painted by fifth grade students in the Morris Grove art club.

Rebecca Springer, the visual arts teacher at the school who also runs the art club, said the kids have been dedicated to their pumpkin artwork.

“They are so excited about it,” she said. “They would come in every day and work on it during lunch and recess if they could.”

The art club members met on Tuesdays to work on their pumpkins. This year, designs include a glow-in-the-dark pumpkin, a gumball pumpkin and a pumpkin hedgehog.

“We’ve done a few different things this year to make it a little more fun,” Springer said.

In 2013, the auction raised almost $1,000, including a bid of $95 for a UNC-themed pumpkin. Springer said she hopes they can surpass $1,000 at this year’s auction with the tremendous amount of dedication shown by the students.

The money raised will go toward the nonprofit United Way of the Greater Triangle, which serves Orange, Johnston, Durham and Wake counties.

Chris Pfitzer, vice president of marketing and communications for the United Way of the Greater Triangle, said the money raised in the auction would likely be used to fund several of United Way’s initiatives.

“We partner with all the school districts within our region and a lot of them do events like this,” Pfitzer said. “One of our key areas is education.”

Springer said she was excited to partner with the nonprofit, especially since this year’s auction coincides with United Way’s annual campaign.

“I thought that it would be a fun way for the students of the art club to have a creative project to do that also benefitted the community,” Springer said. “I talked about the United Way with the kids so that they would understand how many different programs they support.”

Gretchen Westman, the school’s librarian and media specialist, bought three pumpkins at 2013’s auction, one of which was Harry Potter themed.

“It’s an opportunity to do a kind of community service — not all kids have that in their day-to-day life,” Westman said. “And they have a lot of fun, and they get a lot of positive feedback on their pumpkins and their artwork.”

Westman also said parents get just as excited about the pumpkins as students do.

“I think that they really enjoy it,” Westman said. “It brings parents into the building that may not always have an opportunity to come because they want to see.”

Springer said she is grateful for the excitement and dedication shown by her students.

“It’s a special group of kids,” Springer said. “They’re very passionate about it and take great pride in their work.”

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