Experience Punkin Chunkin! 2017 Could be our LAST YEAR…

The 32nd annual Punkin Chunkin to be held on November 3rd, 4th & 5th might be their last the organization fears. Without their main sponsor, Science Channel, which contributed twenty five percet of the donations needed to host this unique world class event, the Punkin Chunkin Championship Association is struggling.

“The chunk will go on this year”, stated Frank Payton, President of the World Punkin Chunkin Championship Association. The volunteers are working hard to make sure that this tradition continues, but without an outpouring of support from sponsors, this could be the event’s last year.

“The group has an emergency fund.” Payton explained. However, due to increased costs, this fund may only be good for 1 year. This leaves the group scrambling to figure out a way to save Punkin Chunkin and continue hosting this one-of-a-kind science event.

“In life, there are uncertainties in everything we do. Punkin Chunkin is not an exception. 2013 or even last year could have been the last year. We know that the event will happen again in 2017, but without an outpouring of worldwide community financial support, we are in trouble.” Payton commented.

The organization had a 3-year plan to rebuild their event into a family friendly destination promoting Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics. Without the necessary operation funds, they have had to re-focus on just trying to survive.

In order to raise funds for this year, the organization revamped their sponsorship pricing to be more appealing. “We learned our lesson from being dependent on a single entity for the majority of our funding. As much as we appreciated the relationship, we ended up suffering in the long run”, said David Quigley, Vice President of the association. You can see their new sponsorship packages on their website by going to www.punkinchunkin.com.

“We are looking for sponsors as low as $250, and you can sign up right on the website.” Payton encouraged. Feel free to email the organization at info@punkinchunkin.com and one of their volunteers will help answer your questions. “I will take one thousand, $250 sponsors any day. Since the driving force behind Punkin Chunkin is giving back to the community that would be the desirable outcome of all of our hard work”, confirmed Quigley.

The Punkin Chunkin association is a nonprofit and is one hundred percent volunteer based, focused on maintaining their tradition of chunking pumpkins that started in 1986. However, they are also committed to giving back to the community in the form of donations to other non-profits and scholarships to deserving youth. “Once we pay to put on the event, all the remaining money is given back to the community”, indicated Terry Brewster, treasurer of the organization. Brewster has been treasurer for well over a decade and confirms that the group has donated over $1,000,0000 to community organizations since the year 2000.

Punkin Chunkin is an annual event hosted in November in Bridgeville, DE. A happy mixture of engineers, scientists, and families, Punkin Chunkin is more than just a place to chunk some pumpkins. It’s a worldwide phenomenon garnering hundreds of thousands of views in past years. For more information, or to become a sponsor, visit their website www.punkinchunkin.com or email info@punkinchunkin.com.