The Le Mars Eagles Club will host a fundraiser in support of the Le Mars Area Dialysis Services beginning at 5 p.m. this Friday, Aug. 8 at the Eagles Club, 104 First Ave. S.W. in Le Mars.

The group is hoping to raise funds to help support the effort of raising an additional $600,000 in order to complete renovation of the newly acquired facility at 104 First St. S.W., which will eventually provide local services for kidney dialysis patients.

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One Le Mars family is making sure the project gets the necessary funding.

"Our Dad, Norbert Gotto, is a dialysis patient and is very excited about the opening of the new dialysis center. We have come to realize in the past year how many area people are affected by dialysis," said Laurie Prouty-Kayser. "Dad wants to do his part to help the center open, so we decided as a family to plan this meal of grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, cole slaw and ice cream and offer it to the community for a free will donation with ALL proceeds going toward the renovation of the building. Everyone is welcome," she continued.

"Many area businesses have donated items for the meal and/or for a raffle which will be held through out the evening," said Rhonda Kayser. Anyone interested in purchasing raffle tickets before the event, may call Laurie at 548-7537 or Rhonda at 540-3541. Tickets can also be purchased at the event.

"Over $1,000 in prizes have been donated so far. It is nice to be part of a community where people pull together and take care of each other. We should be proud of our community," said Rhonda.

Le Mars Area Dialysis Services will renovate the 13,200 square foot building into a state of the art kidney dialysis center with the capacity to serve up to 32 patients with room for further expansion when needed. At full capacity, there will be a full time staff of at least 15 people, which includes nurses, technicians, dietary, social work and administrative personnel.

The project totals $1.2 million. Le Mars Area Dialysis Services anticipates beginning to serve patients as soon as possible, estimating that renovations can be completed in as little as four months, once funds are raised. Individuals interested in donating should contact Le Mars Area Dialysis Services at 712-546-3492 or visit the web site at www.lemarsdialysis.org.