By R. Kurt Osenlund, Bucks Local News

The kids of the Pennington United Methodist Church youth group have made a hobby of helping others.

On Halloween, members of the local youth group TGIF (Thank God it’s Friday), held a “Pumpkin Fun Fest” outside of their home base – the Pennington United Methodist Church at 60 S. Main St.

The holiday-themed event took place from 2 to 4 p.m. and included a bake sale, crafts, games and prizes. The TGIF kids – roughly a dozen sixth, seventh and eighth graders from churches throughout the Hopewell Valley community – organized the fest, the funds from which will benefit both the Red Cross and TGIF’s upcoming December retreat at Camp Johnsonburg in Hope, N.J.

“The kids made the food and planned the games,” says TGIF advisor Carla MacGuigan, who started the youth group last fall with her husband, Rick. “While we certainly need money for the retreat, it was the kids’ idea to give some of it to charity.”

Saturday’s less-than-desirable weather resulted in a small turnout at the roadside fest, but the TGIF students did raise about $120. Two-thirds of the money will go to the Red Cross and one-third of it will offset the costs of the retreat, which MacGuigan says will be themed around its participants’ “natural gifts and talents,” and will include singing, bible study and various outdoor activities.

According to MacGuigan, she and her husband started TGIF as a way to give local, church-going middle school students their own exclusive club (Pennington United Methodist already had a youth group, but one that combined both high school and middle school kids). The couple had worked with church youth groups in the past, but TGIF marks their first youth group venture at their own church, and the first they’ve created.

“It’s been a neat experience to see it develop,” MacGuigan says. “We’ve doubled our size this year, which is great, and it’s always neat to see the kids get excited about different things. They come up with the projects, and they have a wealth of ideas.”

MacGuigan says that most of those ideas are focused on community service, and the TGIF members are quick to start, or get involved in, things that benefit those in need. Last year, four of the TGIF kids participated in the CROP Walk, an annual, internationally-recognized, six-mile walk that was hosted locally by The Pennington School and, through the Church World Service, helps to eradicate world hunger.

The students have also collected donations for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), held children’s sermons in their churches, and, come February, they’ll be participating in 30-Hour Famine, an international youth movement to fight hunger. The kids will engage in projects emphasizing ways to help the hungry, all the while fasting for over a day.

TGIF meets at the Pennington United Methodist Church a few Fridays a month, and the meetings include bible study, discussions and other activities. MacGuigan says that several of the TGIF members belong to other youth groups as well, and the meetings allow them to share their experiences and better connect with their community.

Kids grades six through eight are encouraged to get involved with TGIF, as are adults who are interested in volunteering. For more information, call Carla and Rick MacGuigan at 609-818-9281.