Baseball season is a long way off, but a dedicated few are already gearing up for next year with a slate of fundraisers.

The Greenville High School Baseball Diamond Club’s latest fundraising efforts will be held in the parking lot of the Greenville Parks and Recreation Department as the organization transforms the area into a full-on bazaar on Saturday, July 25.

From 7 a.m. until noon, the parking lot aims to serve as a one stop shop for buyers and sellers alike around the Camellia City.

Michelle Hinson, president of the GHS Baseball Diamond Club, said that the booster club was formed this February to help support the junior varsity and varsity baseball teams’ various needs, from nutritious meals to equipment and everything in between.

“It’s also really to get the word out about the baseball program, because we are in a much more football-based nation in the South than we are with baseball,” Hinson said.

“Sometimes, the baseball program doesn’t get quite as big of a crowd as the football program does.  So it was definitely something just to help make sure that we get the boys’ names out there, the program’s name out there and the fundraising to help get the equipment that the boys need.”

The Diamond Club will be selling booth spaces for the bazaar at $25 apiece, where potential merchants can display and sell a variety of goods.

“The money that we make for selling the booth spaces goes directly into the Diamond Club,” Hinson said.

“For the individual person who purchases their booth space, 100 percent of what they sell is theirs.”

The Diamond Club will have their own booth, in which parents, players and others interested in contributing can donate items, and all proceeds will go toward the club.

There are also plans for the Parks and Recreation Department to open the concession stands for shoppers for food and drinks.

The bazaar marks the biggest fundraising effort in the booster club’s six-month history, though it’s hardly the first.

The GHS Baseball Diamond Club has also hosted a number of spirit nights at local restaurants, including Bush’s Barbecue.

“Whether you go in for lunch or dinner, if you go in with one of our flyers that the Diamond Club prints out, (the restaurant) donates a portion of the meal ticket to the Diamond Club,” Hinson said.

“And we’re already setting up spirit restaurant nights with Pizza Hut, and we’re going to check with some of the other ones around town, as well.  We’d like to ask for everyone to keep an eye out around town for further communication that we’ll be doing things on and off every month between now and the start of the 2016 baseball season.”