Spooky season has arrived and Suffolk University’s Rammython, Pinky Swear Pack and Taylor Swift Society knew just how to celebrate with their fundraising pumpkin decorating event Oct. 10.
“The turnout is honestly amazing. As long as we get at least ten people, we consider that a win-win because it means our name is getting out there,” said Jorie Kyle, a senior studying English and the treasurer for Rammython, a non-profit organization supporting Boston Children’s Hospital.
The event started with Taylor Swift trivia and an upbeat playlist curated by the Taylor Swift Society. Alyssa McInnis, a junior English major and the president of the Taylor Swift Society, was excited to contribute to the event.
“I hope that everybody has an absolute blast getting into the Halloween spirit because we all need a little bit of that,” she said. “The weather is finally getting colder, and maybe someone will discover a new song that they like.”
After a spirited trivia game, the pumpkins were passed out, along with paint and paintbrushes for participants to decorate with.
Attendees got creative painting Spider-Man and Lorax pumpkins, all while keeping in mind that only one pumpkin would be crowned the best. Kyle looked forward to the competitive aspect.
“It gets more of the Suffolk community involved after the event ends,” she said. “Everyone will get the chance to vote and help pick our winner.”
The event’s goal was to gain proceeds for the Boston Children’s Foundation and the Pinky Swear Foundation.
Kayla Moses, a sophomore studying psychology and the events manager for the Pinky Swear Pack, was hopeful about their mission.
“We haven’t done a lot of donation-based events, so that was one thing that we definitely wanted to do more this year,” she said.
The Pinky Swear Pack raises money for the Pinky Swear Foundation, a children’s cancer charity with a mission to provide financial support for kids with cancer and their families.
“Our donations will go to the actual foundation and help families who are struggling,” Moses said. “I hope people have fun and I hope we get donations. That’s the main point of it.”
Samantha Bailey, a senior studying public relations and Rammython’s vice president, explained Rammython’s charitable efforts.
“We’re directly connected with the Children’s Miracle Network and Boston Children’s Hospital,” she said. “None of it goes to us. It all goes straight back to the hospital.”
Kyle gave more insight into how these donations help.
“We fundraise all year round for anything the kids need while they’re staying there, like toys, food, games, anything to keep them occupied while they’re going through all this hard stuff,” she said. “We encourage donations, but nobody has to.”
Organizing such an event was not an easy task for these clubs. According to Kyle, finding a day for this event was a challenge in itself.
“We had to coordinate with the other two clubs to find a day that worked for all of us, where most of our members could attend,” she said.
Dedicated to hosting a fun event, everyone worked diligently together, with Moses sharing her team’s efforts.
“We split up the things that we needed to buy. Whether it was the pumpkins, tablecloths, or setting up a Venmo,” she said. “We get our budgets through SLI, so that’s a little helpful.”
The organizers were more than happy with the event’s success. Bailey hopes to co-host more events with different clubs in the future.
“We all have very similar missions, and I’ve been in this club for four years, so doing these events with other clubs is really important to me,” she said. “We get more people to attend and spread our awareness and support each other, which is always a great thing to do on our campus.”
