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Pumpkin Community Love

More than $51,000 was distributed to local and regional organizations at the Pumpkin Festival VIP event.

Leigh Ann Brown, Morton Chamber of Commerce executive director, with Joel Dickerson and Teressa Zobrist of the Morton Park District and Tim Mueller of Morton Community Bank
Leigh Ann Brown, Morton Chamber of Commerce executive director, with Joel Dickerson and Teressa Zobrist of the Morton Park District and Tim Mueller of Morton Community Bank. Jacque Austin Photography

The Morton Pumpkin Festival Advisory Committee and Morton Chamber of Commerce awarded 35 local and regional organizations a total of $51,650.83 from money raised through the 2019 Morton Pumpkin Festival. These awards were granted at the inaugural Pumpkin Festival VIP event held on November 18 and sponsored by Morton Community Bank. 

Nonprofit organizations and youth groups received donations for volunteering at festival events and for participating in the Give Back program. Donations from the Give Back program come from an endowment fund established with the Morton Community Foundation earlier this year.

The 2019 Give Back Project—which has an open application to any brick-and-mortar project that would benefit the wider community—went to the Morton Park District for updates to Horseshoe Park. The park received $25,000 to create more public seating, add a pollinator garden and update the landscaping. mortonpumpkinfestival.org  PM

Peoria Magazine: January 2020