Class of 2017: MUMC Youth Group
The Mandarin United Methodist Church's Youth group runs the oldest Pumpkin Patch in Jacksonville. Each year they tend their patch for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the entire month of October selling pumpkins to raise funds in support of their various missions throughout the year.
For the third year in a row I've had the privilege of doing a photo session with that years senior class. These kids grow up in the patch together each year starting as they enter the Youth Group in 6th grade. For many it's their first introduction to what it's like to have a job. They commit to scheduled work hours, show up on time, do the work that has to be done serving both their customers and the community. They unload a semi truck full of pumpkins of varying size every Saturday morning for 4-5 weeks, manually distributing them around the large lot, they help customers left and haul pumpkins, they take photos, they do it all.
Our photo session each year celebrates them, the friendships they've formed, and the work they've done, and the accomplishments they made. Congratulations MUMC Youth Class of 2017