GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In a warehouse on Godfrey Avenue, Scott Packer set fall's signature fruit onto a spraying rack, readying it for a fresh coat. For days, he'd been volunteering in the donated space.
This October in Grand Rapids, the pumpkins will be pink— part of a movement to support families affected by breast cancer.
"We have a special city," Packer, founder of Pinkn' Patch, said.
The seeds of the operation— a plan to paint 20,000 pink pumpkins for a charitable cause— were sown years prior in a Meijer, where Packer saw a pumpkin display next to a Breast Cancer Awareness Month ribbon.
"I had never seen a pink pumpkin," Packer said. "Kind of makes sense, right?"
That same year, Packer had visited a friend diagnosed with the disease.
"I don't know how these women do it," he said. "They get off the bus with kids, and they have to go to treatment."
Last fall, Packer saw the pumpkin-pink pairing in Meijer again. He set out to make a difference through Pinkn' Patch.
"I'm embarrassed to say that I've never really been a big volunteer guy," he said. "I don't need any more Netflix and Hulu. This is wonderful."
But it's not a one-man operation. In order to paint and ship the pumpkins to West Michigan restaurants, set up a "Pinkn' Day" and put together a community event at Sullivan Field, Packer needed help.
He and his team hardly had to ask. Sherwin Williams donated latex-based, environmentally-friendly paint. Grayco set them up with spray painting supplies. Meijer sold them truckloads of pumpkins at a low price. Friends of Valley Field provided a venue. These companies and several others powered the pumpkin brigade.
In a chance meeting at a local dog park— for example— Packer connected with Nate Heyboer, a sales team leader at Total Quality Logistics. A week later, he had Heyboer painting pumpkins with a team of people from his company.
"Every time we hit a hurdle, it was answered," Packer said about those who donated.
When someone buys a pumpkin, the proceeds will be used to provide services to families affected by breast cancer, including transportation to treatment, house cleaning, and lawn care. Though still in development, Packer plans to make these tasks available through an app.
"There's no asking, there's no waiting, there's no red tape," Packer said. "When they need it, they get it."
The pumpkins will be available for purchase at participating restaurants via a QR code, while "misfit" pumpkins and other Pinkn's will be sold at the Factory Patch on 635 Godfrey Ave. The largest pumpkins are priced at $19.95 and standard-sized pumpkins will cost slightly less than $10 (specific price still to be determined).
In addition, a Pinkn' Day on Oct. 1 will let people buy $10 mini pumpkins for hand-delivery to a loved one.
Finally, on Oct. 14, the Pinkn' Patch Ballpark Bash will stock Sullivan Field and an adjacent forest with 10,000 pumpkins. The free community event will feature a pumpkin batting cage, live music, and other seasonal activities.
"I wish I would have started this a long time ago," Packer said. "It's just been wonderful. Everything's just falling into place."
For more information on these events, visit the Pinkn' Patch website.
