Forty spooked-out and glammed-up Halloween pumpkins were sold in Okotoks recently, with all proceeds going to the Okotoks Food Bank.

The Spooky-Glam Pumpkin Food Bank Fundraiser raised over $1,000.00 for the Okotoks Food Bank.

And thanks to the Bone and Biscuit and FirstMate and Kasiks Pet Foods, that total will be matched in pet food donations.

Event organizer, Pamela Ollenberger, says proceeds from the fundraiser exceeded her expectations.

"My goal was to raise $1,000.00 and I surpassed that, so I'm really proud to say that we've raised $1,180.00 and the Bone and Biscuit is going to be matching that with their FirstMate premium dog and cat foods," Ollenberger says. "So this will be very helpful for feeding pets, as well as for feeding families."

Ollenberger says it took her six days and 37 hours to decorate the 40 pumpkins that were sold. Each pumpkin was sold for $25.00 with all proceeds going to the Okotoks Food Bank.

Okotoks Food Bank Board Chair John Hartley says they are grateful for the support in both cash donations and bags of pet food.

"When families come to us and they're in need, it's the whole family, including the four-legged members of the family," Hartley explains. "And families are under a tremendous amount of stress at this point, so being able to take care of their pets as well reduces the load on them."

The event was also sponsored by Sobey's Okotoks and Okotoks Auto Detailing.

Ollenberger says she hopes to grow the fundraising event in the community and invites anyone who would like to become involved to visit the Spooky Glam Pumpkin Fundraiser Facebook page.

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