Vicksburg Elks Lodge No. 95 will be raising money with lunch and a rummage sale and hosting a blood drive Saturday to benefit a Vicksburg police officer undergoing treatment for a rare form of cancer.

The rummage sale and blood drive begin at 8 a.m. followed by a barbecue plate lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., said Elks Lodge Exalted Ruler Jeff Crevitt.

“We’re going to have some raffle items too,” he said.

Tickets have been on sale for weeks, and the Elks are expecting hundreds of people, Crevitt said.

“It’s over 300 so far on the lunch plates,” Crevitt said of ticket sales.  “We’re going to have enough for 550 to 600 plates.”

Tickets are $10 for the meal that includes pulled pork, baked beans and potato salad. Preparation for the meal will begin Friday.

“It’s going to be 26 or 27 hours of cooking,” Crevitt said.

Ryan has been a Vicksburg officer since November 2005. He is also a member of the Elks Lodge.

“Burt’s been a member out there for years,” Crevitt said. “We try to help out whenever we can.”

Earlier this summer Ryan was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer that causes him to require frequent blood transfusions. Ryan spent weeks in the hospital after his diagnosis and checked back in July 20 for a month of around-the-clock chemotherapy.

“He’s still in pretty good sprits. The chemo’s working on him pretty hard. He’s got a few more weeks of heavy treatment he’s got to go under,” Crevitt said.

In June, Vicksburg Police Department, Warren County Sheriff’s Office and Vicksburg Fire Department sponsored a blood drive in which 99 units of blood were donated in Ryan’s Honor.