Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill's 27th Annual Pumpkin Patch
October 4-31, 2020; 3606 Seminary Rd, Alexandria, VA
HOURS: Mon-Fri 12:00 Noon-6 pm; Weekends 10 am-6 pm
No admission fee
HOURS: Mon-Fri 12:00 Noon-6 pm; Weekends 10 am-6 pm
No admission fee
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Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill hosts its 27th annual Pumpkin Patch fundraiser for charity.
The pumpkin patch offers all sizes of pumpkins from small hand-held “spookies” to very large pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns; prices start at $1 and go up based on size. Also for sale are homemade soups (including a vegetarian variety), baked goods, and knit wear. All net profits from the pumpkin patch support the church’s outreach activities at the community, regional and international levels. Last year, over 25 charities received support ranging from Alexandria charities working with homelessness and education, to regional anti-poverty programs, to international work including a children’s ministry in Haiti, nurses training in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and a hospital in Gaza.
“The pumpkin patch is a wonderful ministry for many reasons,” says the Rev. Randy Alexander, Rector of Immanuel. “The entire parish is involved. It’s our welcoming door to the community, and it gives us the resources to do God’s charitable work. It’s truly faith in action.” 
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COVID-19 PROTOCOLS
Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill is committed to protecting the health and safety of all visitors to our Pumpkin Patch. To that end, we are following Alexandria Health Department recommendations:
We have been certified by Alexandria’s Public Health Department under the "ALX Promise" program as committing to higher safety standards than the minimum rules required by law.
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Background and History
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In what has become a local tradition for the past two decades, Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill offers pumpkins, gourds and seasonal foods for sale in October to help the charitable programs the parish supports.www.immanuel-on-the-hill.org/outreach.html
More than 20 non-profit organizations benefit from the proceeds from the pumpkin sale, including local charities such as ALIVE!, Carpenter's Shelter, Community Lodgings, and Child and Family Network Centers. International charities include Five Talents and the Haiti Micah Project. 100% of the net profits from the pumpkin sale are donated to charity. The church works with Pumpkin Patch Fundraisers in North Carolina, a small company which consigns pumpkins to churches and non-profit organizations throughout the country. The pumpkins are sustainably grown on the Navajo Indian Reservation near Farmington, New Mexico -- supporting jobs on the reservation -- and are shipped throughout the country by semi-trailer trucks to participating churches and organizations. In its first year of sales in 1993, Immanuel received a shipment of about 1/4th of a truckload. In recent years, Immanuel received four semi-trailer truckloads.
The entire parish community participates in the annual pumpkin sale. On the first Sunday in October, scores of volunteers unload pumpkins from two 18-wheel semi-trailer trucks. Thereafter, volunteers will staff the patch for 10 hours each day until Halloween. Volunteers also make delicious soups, baked goods, and knitwear for sale. 
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