Rochester Public Schools staff received a generous thank you gift from a local community partner this week as a way to recognize their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, Feb. 8 and Tuesday, Feb. 9, employees from Hilltop Chevrolet delivered lunches to more than 800 staff members at the district’s schools.

The Roundabout Diner made the lunches on both days for teachers and helped deliver them via its catering vans. The meals — which contained items the Roundabout Diner is known for, such as sandwiches, rollups, fruit, homemade hummus, cookies, cupcakes, and chips — were brought to each school during the regular lunchtime for teachers.

“This was a great event and we are lucky to have such supportive community partners in Rochester,” Superintendent Kyle Repucci said. “Our teachers have gone above and beyond over the last few months, and have made the best of a challenging situation in order to help provide our students with the best possible learning experience. It’s fantastic to see them honored in this way.”

“Our entire community, especially our teachers, have worked so hard to continue to offer in-person learning,” East Rochester School Principal Christine Hebert said. “It was wonderful for them to be recognized and we thank Hilltop Chevrolet!”

Owner Ron Currier and the team at Hilltop Chevrolet aren’t strangers to giving back to the community, though this is the first event they’ve done of this size. Their hope was to pay it forward; the community rallied to support the Somersworth dealership after a fire broke out at their facility last summer. Currier and the Hilltop team hope that other businesses will be inspired to do the same.

“This has been an incredibly challenging time for all of us, so it means a lot to be able to give back in this way to Rochester educators and staff,” Currier said. “We’ve experienced first-hand what it’s like to be on the receiving end of acts of kindness like these and continue to incorporate this work into our mission as a family-owned business. The thank you notes that we received and the appreciation that we’ve been given is so beyond anything we’ve ever experienced.”

In addition to the meal preparation by the Roundabout Diner, Favorite Foods in Somersworth and Saunders Fruit and Produce in Somersworth also donated food for the event.

From left: Mike Wing pf Hilltop Chevrolet, Cherie Mann of Rochester Public Schools, Nancy Notis of Hilltop Chevrolet, Superintendent Kyle Repucci, Kylie Currier Goodwin of Hilltop Chevrolet, Hilltop Chevrolet Owner Ron Currier and Kerrie Morales of Hilltop Chevrolet. (Photo courtesy of Hilltop Chevrolet)