By Francis Scarcella
The Daily Item
SUNBURY — The Sunbury Eagles in 2012 donated $54,000 to Valley causes — the most ever for the club since such organizations were required by state law to give away 70 percent of gambling proceeds to civic groups.
In existence for 108 years, Sunbury Fraternal Order of Eagles 503 donated funds to the Sunbury Police Department, A Community Clinic and the Sunbury New Year’s Eve committee.
“We will never stop doing that,” secretary Jeremy Fritz said. “We will always help our community.”
While small games of chance have been under state scrutiny, a recent law allowed private clubs to increase their payout limit from $5,000 a week to $25,000.
Fritz said the club doesn’t mind helping the community.
“We are all about it,” he said. “We help out in any way we can.”
The Eagles’ membership began to grow roughly six years ago after the organization decided to sponsor a Valley softball team.
“Guys came in and we began to see many new faces,” he said. “We just started really growing from there.”
Read more on this story in Saturday's edition of The Daily Item.
