WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Potato pancakes, porketta sandwiches, and clam chowder: Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Wilkes-Barre set up a food sale on Monday, and the locals came out in droves.
"This is great. It's our local community, like I said, the Bog is just down the road. Many of the parishioners here, when we were kids, we grew up there. And so, it feels really wonderful to be able to give back," Holy Trinity Orthodox Church Parishioner Sandra Serafin told 28/22 News.
The money raised from the sale will go toward the Wyoming Valley Challenger Team's trip to play in the Little League World Series.
The team is heading to Williamsport in August to compete in the Challenger Division exhibition game.
"It's been a long road for us since we became notified that we were going to be included in that game. The board of directors, officers, and all the other members of our league have been working very aggressively to raise all the money that it's going to send us down there," Miner Memorial Park Facilities Manager Dan Mulhern said.
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The team's trip will span four days, and the funds will help cover the cost of the hotel stay.
"As you can imagine, those expenses get to be pretty steep, so we're thankful for what the church is doing as part of the community that's helping us get there," Mulhern stated.
The kids' team even has the support of their Senior League, rallying behind them.
"I've never been to Williamsport before, so this is my big excitement: to see the little ones get to enjoy it, you know?" Wyoming Challenger Senior League Player Thomas "Tom" Rodgers explained.
"I'm very happy," Wyoming Challenger Senior League Player Austin Dyer said.
The fundraising event had a significant turnout thanks to the local community, and the volunteers tell 28/22 News they expected that.
"It doesn't surprise me, I mean, it's kind of like, when we first decided we were going to do this, we knew that once people heard about it, they'd come out because that's just the type of people we have here," Serafin continued.
The team's journey to the World Series is years in the making, and with the church's help, the kids can live out their dreams.
