ROANOKE, Va. – The Strawberry Festival is one month away, but before it kicks off, 50 volunteers are gathering at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on Thursday to bake all the shortcakes.
Volunteers are baking 10,000 shortcakes for their famous strawberry shortcakes that they sell for the festival on May 2 and May 3.
“We bring joy and sweet treats to the Roanoke Valley; we’ve been doing it for 45 years, and it is an annual event, and it’s basically the kickoff festival of the season in Roanoke,” said substitute teacher Nicole Cooper.
The proceeds raised go toward the Community School in Roanoke.
Funds raised help with student activities and teacher development. They also use the money for financial aid for families.“We want Community School to be as accessible as possible to people, and so doing a fundraiser like this allows us to keep our tuition as low as possible so that the students and families who want to be here can all be here with us,” said Executive Director Katrina Hill.
The Community School is for kids in Pre-K through eighth grade. 157 students currently attend the school.
Cooper said her son went to the Community School, and now he attends James Madison University.
“It means the world to me. It feels so good to be back in this space where I got to watch my own son grow, and I see the kids that I have known since they were preschoolers, and now they are getting ready to go off to high school themselves. I only have one child, but for me, I get to see kids grow up every year and come back. It has a very special place in my heart to watch other kids that are part of my family grow as well,” said Cooper.
Hill’s son also attended the Community School, and she was also a teacher there.
“Community School is home in so many ways,” said Hill.
Again, the Strawberry Festival kicks off May 2. There are lots of goodies too.
“Another big star of the show is the chocolate-dipped strawberry,” said Cooper.
