Butler Catholic School's Great Pumpkin Roll is the latest victim of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kathy Dudley, director of development at Butler Catholic, said the event was canceled out of an abundance of caution.

The Great Pumpkin Roll, set for the afternoon of Oct. 17, was planned to take the place of the school's annual Winter Wonderland Dinner and Auction, which had to be canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The events were major fundraisers for the school.

In the Great Pumpkin Roll, community members were to “adopt” a pumpkin grown by students in a lot behind the school. The pumpkins were then to be loaded into a dump truck that would tip the bed at the top of Locust Street hill.

The first pumpkin to make it to the bottom would have been the winner, and its owner would have won prizes.

“In lieu of the Pumpkin Roll, so that we may still celebrate our pumpkin patch harvest, we are making plans to have a fun pumpkin activity for the students during a school day this month,” Dudley said.

The basket raffle to have been held at the Great Pumpkin Roll will be combined with a Santa's Sleigh raffle and conducted online in November, she said.

The public is invited to bid on the many baskets and other items available, such as a weeklong stay in Killington, Vt., and a popular machine used by crafters to customize T shirts. Dudley said those who have already purchased basket raffle tickets for the Great Pumpkin Roll will have those tickets entered for the online raffle.

Those seeking to buy basket raffle tickets can do so from Nov. 9 to 20 on the Butler Catholic School Facebook page or at the school's website, ButlerCatholic.org.

Dudley said drawings will be on Nov. 21.

School officials also had a matching fund drive in place of the Steelers Raffle that raised $45,000.

An online Purse Bash in May, timed to coincide with Mother's Day, raised $18,000.

“We just find ways to offer other opportunities to support the school online,” Dudley said of the challenges faced by the school in 2020.

Another new fundraiser is the school's monthly Saints Supper.

Volunteers at St. Fidelis in Butler Township, assisted by a number of Butler Catholic parents, prepare family-style meals to be ordered and picked up at the school once per month.

The November meal is meatloaf, cheesy potatoes and homemade pie, Dudley said.

Orders for next month's Saints Supper will open Oct. 21 on the school's website or Facebook page. Pickup will be Nov. 18.

Various meal sizes will be available, Dudley said, and prices will be available online when ordering begins.

“That's going to be monthly throughout our entire year,” she said. The menu will change each month.

“St. Fidelis was quick to step up and say, 'Yes, use our kitchen,'” Dudley said. “They are made at St. Fidelis because our cafeteria is busy making hot lunches for our students.”

She said the school sold an average of 70 dinners in September and again in October. “It's fresh-made that day, so you can take it home and pop it in the oven and you've got a delicious dinner,” she said.

She was sad to cancel the Great Pumpkin Roll, but officials decided not to take the risk.

Dudley said the school's administrators, teachers and families are always glad for the support they receive in the county. “Thank you for your understanding and for your continued prayers for our school, our community and for everyone affected by this COVID virus,” she said.