The local Starbucks Partners from Orange Ave. & Williamson Road store participating in the company’s annual nationwide community volunteerism program.
The Partners, led by the store manager, Lori Clark seen here helping to clear out storage in the Moses Store in the Historic Gainsboro neighborhood, The historic building is headquarters for Nu Focus Entertainment, LLC. a multi-digital media company. The group was greeted by company Founder and CEO Tommy Page. The building is also an extension of the small business incubation and development efforts provided for more than 40 years by the SW VA Community Development Fund Nu Focus is partnering with SVCDF.
Later the group is seen helping to weed the community garden on Loudon Avenue at 6th street NW. The garden is part of a community collaborative effort to develop the George Washington Carver Environmental Education Center. The group was met by Master gardener Authur Hill and Ralph Clarke both coordinators for the garden project.
Last week a group of Partners volunteered for the Melrose Avenue Adventist Child Development Center where they helped mulch the Center’s lawn.
Partners are encouraged by Starbucks to volunteer in the community. Ms. Clark has also developed a relationship with the Gainsboro neighborhood organization and has pledged to work with the neighborhood to provide support whenever possible. Clark believes that because the history of the neighborhood and the location of the store are linked (the store sits on land once occupied by Roanoke’s Black community before urban renewal) “…it is important that we look for ways to honor that history.”
