The Civic Association of Chadds Ford raised an estimated $3,000 during the first of four fund-raising events to benefit the Brandywine Battlefield Park.

About 40 people paid $50 each to have lunch at the Outback Steakhouse Saturday, April 17. The restaurant donated the food and service for the event while a silent auction raised an additional $1,000.

Last summer the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission stopped funding the park operation and even shut the park down for two weeks in August until an agreement was reached allowing the Friends of the Brandywine Battlefield to operate the site, at least temporarily.

Jill Egan, president of the Civic Association explained why her group chose to help keep the park going through the “4 the Love of the Battlefield” effort.

“All of us in the U.S. have a connection to the battlefield. What the Civic Association is trying to do is to make the community feel that connection very tangibly and to have an opportunity to save the Brandywine Battlefield in their own way,” she said.

Egan said the association is planning three more events this spring and summer to raise money. The events include a golf outing at Inniscrone Golf Club in Avondale, A canoe trip down the Brandywine Creek and a Wilmington Blue Rocks baseball game.

Prices on the remaining events range from $20 to $100. Anyone interested in signing up for any of the remaining events should go to http://chaddsfordcivicassn.org/4theLoveoftheBattlefield/BattlefieldEvents.htm

“Hopefully everyone will find something they like, something that’s affordable for them and that they can contribute to the Brandywine Battlefield,” Egan said.

Donations from the Civic Association events go to the association that, in turn, will send the money to the Friends of the Brandywine Battlefield, she said.

Nadia Barakat, an association board member said the group would like to raise as much money as possible.“Our goal right now is modest, which is $5,000, but we’re hoping to surpass that,” she said before the luncheon.

The beneficiaries of the effort are pleased that the association has joined the fight to keep the park going.

“What’s nice about this is that it’s another civic group, a group of local people that are trying to help us out,” said Rich Bowers, a past president and the current treasurer of the Friends of the Brandywine Battlefield. “Just the fact that it’s other people besides us trying to support the battlefield, that’s great to get the word out. Second, every dime we can get is going to help. This is wonderful.”

Chadds Ford Township George Thorpe, also a past president of the battlefield friends group, has been spearheading the efforts to raise money from Delaware and Chester Counties and from neighboring townships.

He said the Civic Association involvement helps draw attention to the goal of keeping the site open and shows that people are interested.

“Word of mouth gets more people to support us. And that’s all we can really do, draw attention,” Thorpe said.