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Strawberry Festival a major fund-raiser for some of them
When thousands of people flood Oxnard's College Park this weekend, they may think of little but eating strawberry treats, shopping and grooving to great tunes.
Yet, each strawberry treat or glass of strawberry lemonade they buy helps to ensure that a needy child can get a new soccer uniform, a young person can go to college and a local high school band can travel to the next big competition.
For 21 years, the Strawberry Festival has enabled many nonprofit groups in Ventura County to raise tens of thousands of dollars for scholarships and community programs. Local growers donate strawberries to charities, which then create sumptuous delicacies, sell them to the public and use the net proceeds to help others. Other nonprofits generate funds by offering their services to the festival, such as staffing drink booths, busing tables and managing parking.
In 2002, nearly 20 participating community groups earned an estimated $123,000 in service stipends and net proceeds from food sales....