To the Editor:

Once again, the youth of Newtown are gearing up for the annual Great Pumpkin Challenge to be held at Trinity Church on Main Street.

The Great Pumpkin Challenge was founded by Mackenzie Page in 2011; she was inspired to support her friend, Zoe McMorran, and challenge residents to carve pumpkins and raise money for Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. The camp was founded by Paul Newman and provides “a different kind of healing” to more than 20,000 seriously ill children annually and it is completely free of charge.

We continue to host this fun annual tradition since 2016 and challenge everyone in town to reach out to family, friends, neighbors, church groups, sports teams, clubs and scout troops to carve goofy, frightening, or just plain weird jack-o-lanterns, and drop them off in front of Trinity Church with a $5 suggested donation per pumpkin.

Donations can also be sent in to Trinity Church or you can donate via the link on the Trinity Church website: trinitynewtownct.org. One hundred percent of the donations will go to the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.

You can drop off pumpkins in front of Trinity Church (stone church by the flagpole) Saturday, October 29th from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm or Sunday, October 30 from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm.

You are also welcome to put them on the scaffolding anytime after 10:30 am on Saturday, October 29th. Your pumpkin masterpiece will be lit up on October 30th and 31st and bring light to Newtown and the lives of children battling serious illnesses.

Julie Dunn

Newtown