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ZSR Ambassador and Student Assistant, Megan Franks, reports on the Z. Smith Reynolds Library’s recent participation with Project Pumpkin!

On October 29th, the ZSR Library participated in a longstanding Wake Forest tradition, Project Pumpkin, for the first time. Project Pumpkin is a frighteningly fun time on the Upper Quad of the Wake Forest campus. Children from the Winston-Salem community are invited to go trick-or-treating at dozens of booths set up by student organizations and campus departments. Besides the pure joy of candy, there are also activities and games at each booth for the children to participate in. This year, over 900 children were brought to Wake Forest to participate! Of course, ZSR had to get in on the fun.

bookmarks, stickers, and markers for Hallo-Read activity.
Hallo-Read book marks are ready for young readers to decorate with spooky stickers and art supplies.

ZSR staff members collaborated with members of the ZSR Ambassadors group on a Project Pumpkin booth. The Ambassadors are a group of students who plan fun events year-round in the library and promote the library’s services to the wider community. The staff members and the Ambassadors decided on a book-tacular “Hallo-Read!” theme. The ZSR booth was scattered with stickers and markers so the children could make their own bookmarks. There was also a handful of spooky Halloween books from the Education library on hand, in case anyone wanted a quick scare!

The President of the Ambassadors, Heidi Gall, and the Vice President, Madison Cairo, expressed their excitement in having a chance to serve the Winston-Salem community and also in getting more involved with the Wake Forest community of organizations. The volunteers at the booth throughout the day were all smiles as the kids approached in their cute costumes. The bookmarks were a hit – the kids loved being able to create something of their own to use in their books at home! And of course, the handfuls of candy weren’t a bad deal either.

All in all, everyone had a blast on this windy Fall day, celebrating the holiday and the community. The Ambassadors look forward to participating in more campus traditions, as well as giving back to the campus itself – with Wake the Library! Every year, the Ambassadors collaborate with ZSR staff to bring fun and food to the students studying hard for their final exams in the library. This year promises to be a great, grand time. And fear not, for there will be candy galore at this event as well!

Megan Franks is a senior from Kernersville, North Carolina. She is a psychology major. She works at the circulation desk and absolutely loves the library, and loves having the opportunity to flourish!