BROOKINGS The Arlington Community Foundation has a nice way of showing its appreciation: With its third annual whole hog roast theres no cost but free-will donations are accepted it has been very generous in the past and all proceeds go to the foundations endowment fund.
The festivities take place on Sept. 20 in the parking lot at the 1481 Roadhouse Grille and begin with a social hour at 3:30 p.m. At 4:30 p.m. its time to chow down on the whole hog, which has been roasting in an outdoor open pit for more than 24 hours. Fixings include baked beans, coleslaw and cornbread. If youve got a hankering for an ice-cold brewski to wash it all down, spend $20 for an engraved special glass and drink free draft beer (while supplies last).
The (foundations) mission is to help fund projects for the Arlington community and organizations that need funding, Foundation Chairman Martin Murphy explained. Weve been in existence for 30-some years. Initially the foundation accomplished its mission by raising money and spending it on a year-to year basis.
Every year they had organizations that we would try to raise money for, Murphy said. About three or four years ago we changed the focus to long-term funding. We opened a community savings account with the South Dakota Community Foundation. We invested $10,000 to get started. And they issued us a challenge grant: if we raised $100,000 in three years they would give us a $25,000 grant. Last November we reached that goal.
Now the foundation has an endowment fun that in keeping with its mission: By gathering funds and utilizing only the returns from this fund we can ensure ongoing and sustainable financial support for projects that meet community needs and improve the quality of live for residents of all ages in Arlington.
At the hog roast the third annual the foundation will give three grants of $2,000 each to the fire department, to the ambulance service and to the city of Arlington for some swimming pool bathhouse upgrades.
In 2024, the roast fed about 125 diners and brought in roughly $19,000 in free-will donations. Murphy would like to see about 150 eat this year and be generous with their free will donations.
Contact John Kubal at [email protected].
Leave a Reply