Maple Ridge boy raises thousands for BC Children’s Hospital with Halloween display

A Hammond resident who won a giant pumpkin as part of a fundraising effort for BC Children’s Hospital, raised thousands more for the cause on Halloween.

Tyson Deane-Freeman, 12, managed to raise $3,220 in support of the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation by including the giant pumpkin in his Halloween display.

Deane-Freeman, 12, won the pumpkin after guessing how much it weighed as part of a contest at Grow and Gather garden centre in Maple Ridge.

The pumpkin, named Sunny Bear, had been donated by Trevor and Joanne Halliday who wanted to give back to the community and raise money for Vancouver hospital that specializes in the care of children. Tickets were sold to guess the weight of the pumpkin.

Deane-Freeman came the closest by submitting a guess of 535 pounds for the 537.6 pound pumpkin and ticket sales raised an initial $450 for the cause.

Halliday craned the pumpkin to Deane-Freeman’s front lawn where it became one of the centerpieces of their Halloween decorations, along with a giant skull movie prop from the TV show Supernatural.

The family decided the decor would make a great photo op and then started advertising that they would be taking donations Halloween night.

“We were pleasantly surprised in the amount of people that came just to get their photos and donate to such an amazing cause! We even had some ask to etransfer donations as they didn’t have money on them,” said Deanna Deane-Freeman, Tyson’s mother, in an online post.

They even received large donations from local businesses.

READ MORE: Guess the weight, win the pumpkin

“BC Children’s Hospital touches so many families. They care for our babies when they need it the most. Our son has spent time in Children’s as well as so many of our close friends’ children,” said Deanna.

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“If there is ever a thought of donating money to a great cause and you question where you should donate…..BC Children’s Hospital is it!”

Grow & Gather owner, Renata Triveri, noted how special gardeners in the community are.

“Trevor and Joanne Halliday’s pumpkin-growing planted the seed, so to speak, but the generosity of the winners, their neighbours, and these businesses warmed our hearts. They are truly good people,” she said.