Nonprofits raise money through Belfield picnics

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Press Photo by KB Carter A sign in main intersection in Belfield announces this week’s pavilion picnic dinner menu Wednesday evening.

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BELFIELD — Every Wednesday during the summer months, the Belfield Chamber of Commerce sponsors a pavilion picnic dinner to help nonprofit organizations raise money.

Terry Johnson, president of the Chamber of Commerce, has been in charge of the pavilion picnics for six years.

“The picnics started out as the chamber sponsoring hamburgers, hotdogs and brats on a Wednesday night,” he says. “It evolved from that point to recruiting local nonprofit organizations to use these as fundraisers.”

Some of the nonprofit organizations involved with the Belfield Pavilion Picnics include the Belfield FCCLA, the Belfield Girl Scouts, the Ukrainian Cultural Institute, Dollars for Scholars and the Knights of Columbus.

The groups are asked to pay the Chamber of Commerce $50 to reserve the pavilion for the night. The chamber then will offer condiments, cups, plates, juice, napkins and plasticware. The menu is completely up to the nonprofit organization running the picnic and can range from hamburgers, potato bars and spaghetti to turkey dinners.

“I have been coming here every Wednesday for years now,” said Belfield resident Florence Obrigewitsch. “I always come and support the organization, and it’s very nice we all can get together for fellowship. It is a wonderful activity.”

“These pavilion picnics usually will draw a big crowd,” said Johnson. “On average we can have up to 120 people at the dinner, which can lead to a nice fundraiser for a group, raising anywhere from $300 to $600 for themselves.”

Bev Ebert is the leader of the Belfield Girl Scout organization and has been running a pavilion picnic for the last three years.

“It’s a great way to get the community together and support local nonprofit organizations,” Ebert said.

This year she is trying to raise money for the Belfield Girl Scouts to take a camping trip to Palmer Gulch in South Dakota.

Johnson said people are welcome to come and have a great dinner and have a chance to socialize and meet new people and help out a good cause.

“It’s a great community event,” he said.

Tags: news, local, belfield, picnic, nonprofits, fundraising