Society hosts salad fundraiser

Published 2:13 pm Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Scores of area residents poured into Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Selma Wednesday to enjoy a salad lunch hosted by the Selma Historic Preservation Society (SHPS) as a fundraiser for the organization’s work.

According to SHPS President Greg Bjelke, this is the group’s first time hosting the event.

“This is our inaugural event on this,” Bjelke said. “It’s going really great.”

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Bjelke noted that he and other society members were inspired by a similar event hosted by another organization years ago.

On Tuesday afternoon, volunteers were already on hand preparing dishes for the crowd to come – by Wednesday afternoon, those dishes were being enjoyed by around 300 different people who passed through the lunchtime fundraiser between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

“There’s a great group of volunteers here,” Bjelke said.

For his part, Bjelke estimates that the group will make around $3,000 on ticket sales alone – combined with the amount of donations that have poured in, he believes the final total could be around $5,000.

That money will be put to good use, Bjelke said, maintaining a variety of structures throughout the city, including a house on Tremont Street and the old YMCA building on Broad Street, among others.

“We have various properties around town that we’re responsible for,” Bjelke said. “We have expenses and we have good membership, but we need to raise money as well.”