Success, success and looking forward to more Success. Even if your neighborhood did not boast oodles of Teal Pumpkins, don’t despair–success will come your way! Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) posted that tens of thousands of homes participated in the TealPumpkinProject, 13,000 images from Instagram shared, over 100,000 people on Facebook posting Teal Pumpkins, over 1,000 new outlets talked Teal Pumpkin and 50 states and twelve countries participated. So…. it is only a matter of time for your neighborhood.
Gratitude. First and foremost, I must thank Becky Basalone, founder of the Food Allergy Community of East Tennessee, for her brilliant idea and for her impressive partnership with FARE. Together, they have changed our world for the better. Thank you Becky for truly being a leader and change agent!
Success. Back to talking success: for me, the real achievement here was the conversation generated by the media and the food allergy community. In Northern Nevada, every single news station covered Teal Pumpkin and so many people were talking about this “new thing”. The more community members talk, the closer we move towards awareness, understanding and valuable partnerships.
More Teal to Come. To be honest, I realize some people don’t have the time to paint a pumpkin teal, so I wasn’t too sad when I didn’t see the town laced with teal. BUT, I bet that next year we’ll see teal pumpkins available for purchase in stores nationwide and then we’ll see more! I still am grinning from ear to ear over the Mike and Ike Halloween candy bag!
Lessons Learned on Halloween. Some kids were not as thrilled on Halloween night when we offered “non-candy treats”. When we offered “toys” then they got excited! Next year, I’m going to paint up some teal pumpkins and give them to my neighbors.
Check out the fun Teal Pumpkin Project photos in this post from the FARE Blog.
I’m missing the teal pumpkins already. Can’t wait for next year.
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