Ten-year-old Chloe Baudry and her family have been growing pumpkins and donating the money to different causes in their hometown of Ste. Agathe for the past four years. This year, they’ve raised more than $600 for the Ste. Agathe Arena, which is fundraising for a new ice plant.
The pumpkins for sale—as well as watermelon, cantaloupe, butternut squash, and gourds (while supplies last)—are located at Robert Road south of Highway 305 and west of Highway 200.
“We don’t really have them priced, but there’s a bucket to put the money in,” says Chloe.
Her mom, Courtney, says they’re depending on the honour system for people to pay for what they take, and so far it’s been working. They also have a sign that says what the money is going toward.
“We go on people being good citizens, and they donate what they think the pumpkin is worth. We’re doing well this year and have surpassed our goal,” says Courtney.
The whole family says it’s a worthwhile endeavor, even if it is a lot of work.
“You need a huge garden, a lot of muscle, a lot of energy, and you need a routine of how much you water them, how far away you separate the seeds,” says Chloe. “It’s a lot of hard work. But it feels good. It’s especially good this year because me and my brother go skating and they play hockey [at the arena]. We use the ice a lot. It’s been really bad this year. We’re hoping that the arena this year or next year gets the ice maker they need to make the ice better.”
The ten-year-old self-starter says they have fundraised over $630 but still have more pumpkins to sell.
With the colder turn in the weather, the family says that the produce will remain in a trailer at the driveway near Baudry Park on Robert Road as conditions allow.
Chloe’s dad, Steve Baudry, says that they will continue as long as they can. Then he’ll help the kids take the money to the bank. Then they’ll get a donation cheque to make out to Josh Pawluk, president of the Ste. Agathe Arena board of directors.
Project History
The Baudrys started growing pumpkins in 2017 with the intent of selling them to make money for a cause. Previous efforts resulted in the family making contributions toward the Manitoba Down Syndrome Society, the Juvenile Arthritis foundation, and Ecole Ste. Agathe.
Chloe shares the workload with her grandma, her parents, and her little brother Travis, but she says that it’s her dad who helps her out the most.
“It’s hard work,” she says with a laugh. “Hard for Daddy’s back.”
Her dad, in turn, says that the credit goes to the energy and direction of his daughter.
“Of course I’m biased, but I don’t know many ten-year-olds who are setting out to fundraise, to do things like this of their own accord,” says Steve. “It’s pretty remarkable.”
Chloe says that she cooked up with the idea with her grandma.
“My grandma lives in a huge yard with four gardens and two of them we use for pumpkins,” she says. “The other two we use for carrots, broccoli, and onions.”
The pair order a variety of different seeds in winter or early spring, either from the seed catalogue or from a store. They don’t focus on a particular varietal but aim to ensure they have enough that grow well so they’ll have a lot of pumpkins to sell.
Once the seeds are picked out, they hope for a good growing season. Pumpkins are thirsty plants, so if there isn’t enough rain when they need it, they have a 1,000-gallon water tank that Steve uses to help water the plants.
“This year was dry and hot, so we had to get the water truck out a lot. We had a water tank we used, but still some of them died,” said Chloe. “It was still a big garden. The garden spread into the grass this year because the pumpkin patch was that big.”
Chloe finds it rewarding to help others. She enjoys seeing people smile when they show up to buy a pumpkin.
“People say, ‘Oh wow, this is so great. You’re so young and you decided to donate to stuff. We enjoy your pumpkins a lot.’ It’s nice,” says Chloe.
Steve also notices the noteworthy way in which the community connects over the pumpkins.
“All the neighbours know when the trailer gets pulled out in front of the house. They’re like, ‘Oh, it’s the pumpkins. Then they know it’s time and it’s something they look forward to. It’s very engaging and you never know who you’re going to meet.”
