Roanoke, Va. – Dozens of Roanoke people grabbed their gardening gloves Saturday to spruce up homes in Northwest. It’s the Star City’s way of celebrating National Beautification Day for the third year in the row.
Before raking the soil, city leaders and dancers pumped up the crowd for a long day of dirty work.
John Drury who became famous on Tik Tok as the dancing trucker, even made an appearance.
But then it was time to get down to business.
More than 100 volunteers throughout the day planted flowers for seven homes near Staunton Park.
Every year, a new location is selected to bring some brightness again to a neighborhood.
“Every neighbor that I had the privilege and the honor of meeting have almost been brought to tears and they have been so excited,” Southwest Virginia Diverse Chamber of Commerce Vice President Eric Sparrow said. “They have been humbly open and welcoming to everyone that has come up to do work on their property.”
More than 20 awards were handed out to sponsors and local leaders who make an impact in the community. Douglas Pitzer is one of them.
Pitzer started a tutoring service called Strokes of Genius after the coronavirus pandemic created further learning disparities.
“Over the past two years I’ve just been finding ways to implement myself in the community with areas in need such as technology,” he said.
When he sees community camaraderie, he said it’s a moment of self-preservation for the city.
“This has been an important city for quite some time,” he said. “We’ve done what was needed to make this city grow. And now we are understanding that it is easier to happen, if we come together and do these areas of need.”