Last weekend, members of the Lord Baltimore Lion’s Club gathered together to help out once again with one of their most profitable fundraisers of the year — the fruit sale.
The sale is practically a year-long process, with preparations starting around June. Orders are placed and, once a month, from November to March, members unload a truck and distribute thousands of juicy oranges, tangerines and grapefruits. The process is so intricate, in fact, that the Lion’s Club has designated a committee over the years to help organize and track everything.
A dozen people is what takes to help coordinate the distribution of the sales, with two operating the sales booths, three organizing orders in the trailer and a handful of others to assure orders are completed properly.
“We have some people pitch in to unload the truck,” added Jack Bauer, chairman of the fruit sale committee since its start in 1992. Committee member Pat Murray helps coordinate each drop-off day as a new shipment of fruit arrives. “It’s great to have people give up their day and really help out,” Bauer added.
A mere $300 was raised in the fruit sale’s first year, but through word of mouth, the popularity has caught on. With numbers steadily growing each year, the club has brought in $91,400 in fruit sales alone, raising an estimated $7,500 to $8,000 each season. The club saw an increase of nearly 100 customers in this year’s sale. Lord Baltimore is the only club in the state that holds a fruit sale, which contributes to their success.
“The amount we raise is up and down,” said Bill Evans, a committee member who helps negotiate the sale’s finances. “We never really know exactly how much we’ll raise, but it’s always picking up a little more.”
Weather plays a crucial factor, not only in the production of the Florida crops, but for transportation as well. Fortunately, the citrus fruits have not seen threatening conditions this season, as happened in California.
“All of our customers are great,” added Evans, “and they like [the sale] because they don’t have to pay in advance.” Instead, they pay on the pick-up day. “We have about a 99.9 percent pick-up record. If they can’t [pick orders up that day], they let us know and we’ll hold them if they need,” he added.
The truck arrives at Pine Tree Campground on Cedar Neck Road in Ocean View on every third Saturday of the fruit sale months. Committee and Club members donate their time and labor to help organize all the fruit that come in, turning around hundreds upon hundreds of orders in a matter of days.
Previous owner of the campground Kevin Sagers donated a trailer two years ago to help with the sale. “It really helps us out and takes some of the worry off of us,” said Lions Club secretary Bill Scott. “We have heat in there, and when we first started, we had to be careful the fruit didn’t freeze. Now, we can hold onto orders until people can pick them up.”
From there, orders are matched with customers’ pick-up availability. Committee member David Stancliff helps transport remaining orders to the Senior Center in Millsboro and the Salvation Army thrift store parking lot on Route 1 in Rehoboth, allowing for convenient pick-up.
In addition to the hundreds of orders placed, customers will often request more when they go to pick up their orders. Others will arrive, explaining that they were not able to place an order in time.
“People always want more,” said David Stancliff’s wife Rebecca, a Lions Club director and member of the fruit sale committee. The committee has learned to accommodate for this, too, ordering extra bushels to be sold at the locations. “It’s really a guessing game, knowing how much to order,” said Rebecca Stancliff. Roughly $800 comes from these additional sales alone. Lions John and Charlotte Driscoll help to sell the additional fruit.
“[John and Charlotte] really personify what a Lion should be,” said Bauer. “There is very little left over and they really are lifesavers for the sale.” The committee also acknowledged Lion’s Club members Karl Grude and Don Stine for their dedication and assistance through the sale. Property owners, including Mike Lewis and state Rep. Gerald Hocker, help make these fund raisers possible.
“The whole program takes a lot of membership,” said Evans. “We have a great group of people who work with us.”
Surprisingly, the fruit sale is only the second-biggest fundraiser that the Lions Club hosts, surpassing their fried chicken dinner and falling just short of their annual summer car raffle. “All the money we raise goes back into the community, too,” said Bauer. A majority of the money raised goes to fund the Lion’s Club eye-care program, while some is put toward scholarship funds.
For anyone still hoping to place an order, there’s still one last chance. The last shipment will come in March 17. Orders must be received by Sunday, March 11.
Fruits available for the final shipment are priced as follows: $16 for 2/5 bushel of mixed tangerines, grapefruits and Temple oranges; $24 for 4/5 bushel of grapefruits; and $25 for 4/5 bushel of either tangerines or oranges. Gift certificates are also available.
Fruit can be picked up at the Pine Tree Campgrounds on Saturday, March 17, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., at the Millsboro Senior Center between 9 p.m. and 11 a.m., or at the Salvation Army Thrift Store parking lot in Rehoboth between noon and 2 p.m.
Pick-up locations are specified when orders are placed. Orders can be taken through the Lion’s Club voicemail at (302) 539-0619 or by e-mail at stein@udel.edu. For other questions or to place an order, call (302) 539-7037 or (302) 537-5175.