Salisbury Academy

SALISBURY — The simplest traditions are often the most meaningful, and this is certainly true for the children and families who participate in the annual Footprints in the Community pumpkin painting.

Hosted by Salisbury Academy each year and attended by Footprints participants and Salisbury Academy students, the morning of decorating pumpkins serves as a celebration of friendship, creative arts and the joy of fall.

Footprints in the Community is an organization that promotes community inclusion for children with special needs, such as Joni.

Joni has Dandy-Walker syndrome and has attended the pumpkin painting at Salisbury Academy for the past three years. Now, as a 4-year-old, she not only holds the paintbrush herself but chooses colors and creates a masterpiece all her own.

“I look forward to this event every year, to seeing her progress,” said Joni’s mother, Tiffany Kennedy.

As the children finish their pumpkins, Salisbury Academy students and Footprints in the Community participants chat, laugh and comment on each other’s pumpkin creations.

“This is a special morning of fellowship for the children in our community and has become a wonderful annual tradition,” said organizer and Salisbury Academy Middle School Division Director Jessica Goodman. “Our partnership with Footprints serves as a meaningful opportunity to learn from one another.”