Local athlete raises pumpkins to fund dream and help area youth
Photo by Linda Gallagher
Luke Helsel is pictured with some of the pumpkins he raised in Helena Township to help finance his own future as well as the future of local youth.
REGION – For the past four years, 16-year-old Luke Helsel has been raising and selling pumpkins at Messiah Farms, his family's Christmas tree farm in Helena Township.
But unlike other teenagers his age, the Bellaire High School junior isn't using the income from his small farming operation to buy snacks or video games.
All of the profits from Luke Helsel's pumpkin sales go towards his downhill ski racing training and what he hopes will be an Olympic future, as well as Bellaire's Youth Initiative, helping to ensure the future of local youth.
This year, the teen really stepped it up, dedicating three acres of unused land on the farm to his pumpkin operation.
Despite the summer drought and a lack of irrigation, the crop did well, producing a total of 554 pumpkins suitable for sale.
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