CHOCOWINITY — Volunteer organizations are more often than not much like a family. That’s why the Chocowinity Volunteer Fire Department is helping one of its own by hosting a fundraising cornhole tournament this weekend.

Saturday’s event will benefit Kenneth Hardy, a captain with the department who was injured in a log truck accident June 6, according to Fire Chief Tommy Pendley.

“We all come together when someone gets hurt, so we decided to do this tournament since Kenneth is going to be out of work for seven to nine months,” said Pendley. “We wanted to help him and his family.”

Registration for the tournament begins at 9 a.m. and play is scheduled to kick off at 10 a.m. Chairing the event are fire department members James Smith and Brian Lanning.

Cost to participate is $10 for the “blind tournament” and $30 per two-player team in the regular tournament. Cash prizes will be awarded to the first- and second-place teams. The tournament will be held at the fire department, located on Highway 33 east of Chocowinity, and refreshments will be available for purchase.

Fundraising is all in a day’s work for volunteer fire departments like the one in Chocowinity, which responds to between 200 and 250 fire emergencies annually.

“The price of gas, of everything, is going up and there is stuff we have to have,” Pendley said. “We have to replace equipment every few years, and trucks can only be in service a certain number of years.”

Chocowinity’s fundraising schedule includes family portrait photo sessions, pancake and barbecue suppers, a car show and a Christmas crafts and gifts expo.

“All of our fundraisers for the fire department purchase equipment and other items not covered by tax money,” Pendley noted. “We couldn’t do all this without our fire department auxiliary. They are always very supportive.”

Tax-deductible donations to assist the Chocowinity Volunteer Fire Department in its work are appreciated and may be sent to P.O. Box 145, Chocowinity, NC 27817.

Cornhole tournament participants may register the morning of the event, or they may reserve a space by contacting either Smith (402-7767 orfirefighter62066@yahoo.com) or Lanning (402-6544 or blanning71@gmail.com).