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East Dundee meat sale fundraiser set for Saturday

A truckload of meat and a little party planning go a long way to raise cash for lifesaving equipment.

Decades ago, East Dundee firefighters learned this fact of life when they put together their first turkey raffle in November. They bought thousands of pounds of frozen turkeys and raffled them off the week before Thanksgiving.

The money they collected was spent on a rescue boat, a high-powered fan and protective clothing that the fire district did not have money for in its budget.

Hoping to build on its success, four years ago, the firefighters' association started a summer meat sale to take the place of the carnival they stopped hosting. On a good year, the sale can net up to $4,000 by selling raffle tickets for $1 and giving folks a chance to win 40 pork chops and a turkey or 10 pounds of bacon and 10 pounds of pork chops for a single spin of the wheel.

The prizes are always generous, said Paula Roland, association treasurer.

"We give away a lot of meat for each spin." she said. "People can win ham, hot dogs, beef, steaks, and bacon."

An additional raffle will be held during the sale, and the winner could walk away with the $500 grand prize.

This year, the meat sale will start at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 18, at Diamond Jim's tavern, 325 Meier St.

"We decided to do something different this year. Usually, we have the sale in the (Max Freeman) park, but it takes so much to get the park ready," she said.

The money collected will, they hope, be enough to buy a trailer to carry a 1934 fire truck firefighters had restored. Last year, the $4,000 collected allowed them to purchase a high-powered fan used to air out smoky buildings and a saw used on rescue calls.

"It's amazing how many thousands of dollars these items cost," Roland said. "The fan alone cost $2,000."

The association and the East Dundee Fire Protection Districts are two separate entities. The district has the authority to collect property taxes. The association does not have a regular source of income.

The additional funds from the sale are available because the association replaced the proceeds from the carnival with the meat sale. The carnival ended because amusement companies no longer wanted to provide rides for small venues.

The extra money would have been further out of reach if the association did not restart the Thanksgiving turkey raffle as it did last year.

Association members are planning to hold it again this year in November.

For details about the meat sale, call the East Dundee fire district at (847) 426-7521.

  The meat sale fundraiser for the East Dundee firefighters' association will start at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 18, at Diamond Jim's on Meier Street. Jim Baumann/jbaumann@dailyherald.com
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