ThePTSA will hold their annual Valentine’s Surprise fundraiser Feb. 14. While the deadline for purchasing chocolate-covered strawberries has passed, parents and students can still order a Valentine bag filled with candy or a Valentine Teddy Bear with suckers until 9:00 a.m. Feb. 14. Both are $5 and students should return forms to the RBHS office.
This tradition started more than ten years ago to raise money for the RBHS PTSA. Kay Hake, who chairs the event, said the sale is an exciting way to spread Valentine’s cheer.
“It [is] just a fun way for the kids to get Valentine’s treats from their parents or other students while also getting money to benefit the school,” Hake said. “They don’t have to go out or drive downtown to get chocolate-covered strawberries from the Candy Factory, we bring them right to Rock Bridge.”
Sophomore Courtney Bach has participated in the RBHS tradition for several years. She received her first Valentine’s Day surprise when she was in eighth grade from a friend at RBHS. Last year she sent chocolate-covered strawberries to one of her friends.
“She loved them. She ate them before I knew she got them,” Bach said. [This year] I’m sending one to myself to give to my younger brother.”
Junior Olivia Guess is on the receiving end of the Valentine’s Day surprise. While she prefers to make gifts for her loved ones, her parents like to spoil her with treats on the special day.
“My parents usually get me and my siblings something,” Guess said. “It’s usually some candy or one of the mini stuffed animals, and they also include a little note with something like ‘We love you!’”
Coordinating the fundraiser is no simple task for Hake. Her job includes contacting the Candy Factory to place the order for chocolate-covered strawberries, sending out order forms through RBHS’s daily news email, putting all the orders into a spreadsheet and setting up on the day of. After doing it for over a decade though, she still finds the work rewarding.
“It’s a really fun event at Rock Bridge High School and the kids get so excited when they see that they have something to pick up,” Hake said.