On Friday, October 28, the #GotYourBack club hosted a pumpkin carving and painting contest for all JP Stevens students to partake in. The event was a great success in being an entertaining, enjoyable activity for the students to take advantage of after a long week of school. 

The goal of hosting this event was to raise awareness for food allergies, bringing students of the school together. The idea of having groups of students carve and paint these pumpkins was a perfect way to let the students work together to make their ideas come to life in a kinesthetic way and to have fun at the same time. 

The event began at 2:45 p.m. when students entered the cafeteria to begin their pumpkin carving and painting. Around 50 students attended this event, all of whom enjoyed being surrounded by friends with a common cause. The pumpkins, along with materials for painting and carving, were provided for the students to use. A Halloween-themed photo booth was set up to take pictures of the numerous groups of students with their pumpkin creations. There were also props placed around the area, a significant one being the Teal Pumpkins masks which were the most popular.

“The pumpkin mask props were painted teal in honor of the Teal Pumpkin Project,” senior Annika Santhanam, a co-founder of the #GotYourBack club, said. “This is a national effort started by Food Allergy Research and Education in order to raise awareness about food allergies.” 

Music was played in the background allowing for a relaxed mood as the students tended to their pumpkins. Though it was advertised as a contest, the event itself was informal and was intended to have a cheerful atmosphere rather than an aggressive competitiveness. The event lasted until 4 p.m., giving students a little over an hour to have a good time and complete their pumpkins. 

Around a month of planning went into the event as the students of the club had to purchase the pumpkins and materials before the event. In order to promote the event, club members set up flyers around the school and arranged announcements to let the students know about it. Furthermore, the members of the club were rewarded with the opportunity to gain volunteer hours through volunteering at the event. The volunteers were responsible for setting up the actual event, bringing art materials, food, and props, and cleaning up the event as well.

This pumpkin carving and painting contest was an important event for the #GotYourBack club. Due to the COVID-19 safety protocols, the club was unable to impact the school with a social event such as this one last year. 

“It was the first big event of the year for the club,” said Ms. Jennifer Hedges, an English teacher who assisted in the organization of the event. “It was a really great turnout.”

Ultimately, the pumpkin carving and painting contest was not only successful in raising awareness for food allergies around the world, but also in being an effective way to allow the students of the school to socialize without any stress.