It's officially Fall in Middle Tennessee, which means it's almost time to get pumpkins! From October 1 - October 31, visit the Cooper Trooper Foundation Pumpkin Patch to buy "Pumpkins with a Purpose" where your money will help support families who have been diagnosed with childhood cancer.
The Cooper Trooper Foundation Pumpkin Patch, located at the corner of Cool Springs Boulevard and Mallory Lane in Franklin (in front of Walgreens), offers a variety of pumpkins and gourds in all shapes, sizes and colors. Corn stalks are also available.
The patch is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Every weekend, families can enjoy a free Kid's Corner, featuring inflatables, games, face painting and more!
The Cooper Trooper Foundation originally began in 2009, after Rod and Missy Cook's youngest son, Cooper, was diagnosed with Infantile Fibrosarcoma at 8 weeks old. It didn't take long to see the impact the illness had not only on Cooper, but on the entire family. Cooper Trooper Foundation was created to encourage and support siblings of children diagnosed with cancer and let them know they are not forgotten, even when much of the focus turns toward their sick sibling. 100 percent of the profit from pumpkin sales goes directly toward helping families whose lives have been turned upside down by cancer.
Cooper Trooper Foundation also financially supports an endowed fund set up at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt specific to childhood cancer research.
You may notice the initials "RC" on some of the pumpkin patch shirts. These are the initials of Rod Cook, Cooper's father, who helped start the foundation. He died suddenly three years ago of massive cardiac arrest.
Learn more at www.coopertrooper.org or visit their Facebook page.
