LONGWOOD, Fla. \u2014\u00a0Churches in central Florida are hoping a fall tradition brings in customers to support their programs.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Sanlando United Methodist Church in Longwood uses its pumpkin patch to fundraise for youth camps and mission trips At Sanlando United Methodist Church<\/a> in Longwood, teen volunteers clean out rotten pumpkins, hand out stickers to kids, and help customers at their pumpkin patch.<\/p>\n Last year, volunteers raised $25,000 to offset the cost for families.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a significant fundraiser,\u201d\u00a0said Sheryl Bane, the church\u2019s youth director. \u201cWhen I speak with other youth ministers from other churches, nothing else other than a pumpkin patch comes close to raising the funds that we need to do what we like to do for our students.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Pumpkin patch coordinator Nikki Robinett says this is the patch\u2019s 30th anniversary. In that time, it\u2019s brought in a new crowd of people who want to support them.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have people who come back who aren\u2019t a part of our church year after year, and they tell us, \u2018I\u2019ve been coming here since I was a little kid,\u2019 and we watch their kids grow,\u201d said Robinett.<\/p>\n Their pumpkin patch is open seven days a week, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., except on Saturdays, when they open at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n
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Last year, they earned $25,000 through the pumpkin patch
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First Methodist Church of Apopka plans events and partners with other local groups to attract customers to the patch
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Spectrum News 13 created an interactive pumpkin patch map<\/a> with locations across Central Florida<\/p>\n