T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Lafferty Moose Lodge 1462 members Brad Applegarth, from left, Tim Butler, Union Local 7th grade student Bailee Brooks, 5th grade student Haylie Dye, Lodge Administrator Marsha Butler, 1st grade student Paisley Dye, and 10th grade student Taylor Wright, and lodge members Jenn Wright, and Dugan Dye prepare for Saturday’s fundraiser dinner.

LAFFERTY – Those looking for dinner Saturday can find one at the Lafferty Moose Lodge and help Union Local’s athletic department at the same time.

A chicken dinner fundraiser for UL athletics is slated for noon-4 p.m. Saturday at the Lafferty Moose Lodge 1462.

Lodge Administrator Marsha Butler said the event’s proceeds will go toward alleviating costs for the athletic department.

“We’re hoping that this is going to turn out to be a great success and that we will be able to continue it annually,” Butler said.

For $15, attendees will receive half a chicken, potatoes, green beans and pasta salad. Patrons have the option to dine in or carry out their meals.

Butler said that everything will be sold at the door, so no tickets need purchased in advance. The fundraiser was a collaborative effort, she said, between the lodge and Union Local athletic director Drew Greenwood.

“The athletic director, Drew Greenwood has been reaching out to the community and local businesses just trying to find ways to kind of bring the community together. He had approached us about it and we put our heads together and had decided to try to help them out by having a chicken dinner fundraiser, because we only want the best for them,” Butler said.

The funds will be used to help several teams at the school, Butler said. They’ll be used to fix or replace resources such as wrestling mats or hurdles for the track.

In addition to the dinner, several items will be raffled off. The grand prize will be a football autographed by Union Local graduate Colton McKivitz, a standout offensive lineman at West Virginia University who now plays for the San Francisco 49ers.

Raffle tickets are $5 for 6 and $10 for 18.

“This is a community event and all are welcome,” Butler said. “If anyone would like to make a donation of any type, whether it be for the Chinese auction or any of our other functions that we’re having that day, they’re more than welcome to donate. They can drop off any donation at the lodge at any time. We open at 4 p.m. each day.”

Butler said the lodge has a continuous goal of being a significant influence in the community.

“We try to be a big part of our community and I feel that we have been successful with that,” Butler said. “I feel that this fundraiser for the athletic department of Union Local is going to be a great success.”

Saturday’s event will be the first public event at the new lodge, which opened last April. Butler said that having the event at the new lodge will make things a lot easier for everyone, including the lodge’s older members.

“They’re now able to walk straight in. There’s no steps and we have plenty of space,” she said. “We just put a new patio out back so people will be able to sit inside or outside. There’s plenty of room to park and we have a play area for the children now which will be great. It’ll keep the kids entertained while the parents are getting their dinners and buying their tickets for the items that we’re raffling off.”