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Jun 10, 2009 5:47 pm US/Central
Richfield Racing To Raise Money For 4th Of July
(WCCO)
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Events might get cancelled, and the fireworks display might get scaled-back in Richfield, Minn., if the city's Fourth of July Committee can't raise enough money to keep it all going this year. (File)
CBS
Independence Day will be here before you know it, but if you live in one Minnesota city, you might not celebrate it like you have before.
Events might get cancelled, and the fireworks display might get scaled-back in Richfield, Minn., if the city's Fourth of July Committee can't raise enough money to keep it all going this year.
Right now, committee members said they're desperate for help, on this, a very important year for the city's celebration. This is supposed to be the 30th year for the Richfield Hometown Fourth of July Celebration.
"I remember every year going to the Fourth of July parade," said Melissa Barns, the committee's president.
She grew up in town, but now worries about the celebration's success -- that perhaps red, white, and boom will become red, white and bust!
"It's devastating," Barns remarked.
Facing a serious budget shortfall from a lack of donations, she's organized other committee members and people who live in town to come to the rescue.
Wednesday morning, they created donation buckets and buttons. Buying a button for $5 gets you a discount at local stores and helps raise money.
Four days of fun in Richfield costs the committee $110,000 every year. Right now, it's in the red, down $20,000, and committee members know they've only got three weeks to make up the difference.
"It just might go away. Some big events might not be here this year or for sure next year," Barns remarked.
Now committee members are making a last-minute push. They're asking families who live in Richfield to donate $5 to save the celebration.
They're also asking businesses to sell the buttons, and Wednesday morning, they dropped off buttons at some.
"Financially, we really need the support this year," said fundraiser Jodi Olson to store owner, Dan Fligge, as she showed him the buttons.
Fligge, the owner of B and D's Convenience Plus in Richfield, has helped before and said he will again.
The celebration, he said, brings in big business.
"It's our biggest day of the year," he remarked.
Fligge, Barns and the other committee members hope to continue to enjoy fireworks this year and in the future.
"We're doing everything we can to save it," exclaimed Barns.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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