Four years ago, Jennifer Dobson and her family left a Birmingham-area pumpkin patch in tears.

Her daughter, Lily, uses a wheelchair, and the pumpkin patch the Dobson family had visited didn’t have the accommodations Lily needed, so Lily had to be carried through the patch.

“We knew as she got older and as she got bigger, things would get a little bit harder,” Dobson said. She and her husband adopted Lily, who’s now 12, from Haiti when Lily was 3 years old. Trying to navigate the pumpkin patch that day – even with the help of Dobson’s older daughter, Anna Lee – was overwhelming.

“We all left frustrated and in tears that day,” Dobson recalled.

When the Dobsons returned to their home in Hueytown, Jennifer Dobson looked at the five acres on which her house sits and got an idea.

“I told my husband, we could do this,” Dobson said. “We can make an accessible pumpkin patch for families and kids like Lily.”

To gauge interest, she shared the idea on Facebook and reached out to the Lakeshore Foundation, which provides opportunities for people with disabilities to lead active and healthy lifestyles. Seeing that there was a need, Dobson got to work. Thanks to donations from a local business and family members who volunteered to help, the Rolling Pumpkin Patch was born.

“We threw one together in about three weeks,” she said. “We had about 100 kids and adults in chairs and walkers come out.”

The next year, a special needs school reached out to Dobson asking if the students could come to the Rolling Pumpkin Patch as a fall field trip. So, the Rolling Pumpkin Patch became a two-day event – a field-trip day for schools on Friday and a day for families on Saturday.

This year the Rolling Pumpkin Patch welcomed 250 students and teachers on Friday, Oct. 18, and 650 children and adults on Saturday, Oct. 19.

Dobson says this year’s Rolling Pumpkin Patch was extra special because so many of her family members – even several who live outside the Birmingham area – pitched in.

“I was able to step back for a moment and look around and, at almost every single area, somebody that was in my family was there serving,” Dobson said.

Jennifer Dobson and her husband were inspired to create the Rolling Pumpkin Patch by their daughter, Lily, shown with Hank the Camel. (contributed)

Jennifer Dobson’s nephew, Braden Ray, who’s an Alabama Power employee, always volunteers at the Rolling Pumpkin Patch event. Ray also got the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) on board to help with a supply drive for the event. APSO collaborated with Energizers, an organization of Alabama Power retirees and their spouses who work together to serve their communities, to buy items needed to bring this year’s Rolling Pumpkin Patch to life. (contributed)

One family member who always volunteers is Braden Ray, who works for Alabama Power. Ray also got the Alabama Power Service Organization (APSO) on board to help with a supply drive for the event. APSO collaborated with Energizers, an organization of Alabama Power retirees and their spouses who work together to serve their communities, to purchase items needed to bring this year’s Rolling Pumpkin Patch to life.

“We are so thankful to the Alabama Power employees who helped us make this happen,” Dobson said.

Along with the pumpkin patch, this year’s event included six “Trunk or Treat” stations, a maze, carnival games, face painting and a petting zoo featuring Hank the Camel, which was a big hit.

The event also included accessible hayrides.

“A lot of our kids have never been able to ride a hayride before,” Dobson said.

Children took home candy, along with watercolor paint kits and plush Halloween-themed toys and games. The Rolling Pumpkin Patch also offers a free lunch to all the families who attend.

Dobson said it took around 200 volunteers to pull off this year’s event. Since the event grows each year, she suspects she’ll need even more volunteers in the future.

Thanks to donations from groups like APSO and Energizers and the help of volunteers, Dobson said the Rolling Pumpkin Patch remains a free event.

“Keeping it free is a passion of mine because a lot of these families don’t have a lot of extra to go around after the needs of their kids, which can be very medically complex,” she said.

Dobson recently established a nonprofit organization called No Limit Lily Foundation to support the Rolling Pumpkin Patch.

“We always hear from parents, ‘Thank you for offering a space where my kid won’t be seen as different,’” Dobson said. “Kids are able to act however they need to act.”

Anyone interested in volunteering with or donating to the Rolling Pumpkin Patch or to the No Limit Lily Foundation can contact Jennifer Dobson at jennifer dobson@bellsouth.net.

Along with the pumpkin patch, this year’s event included six “Trunk or Treat” stations, a maze, carnival games, face painting, a petting zoo and accessible hayrides. “A lot of our kids have never been able to ride a hayride before,” Jennifer Dobson said. (contributed)