ROBERTSDALE, Alabama --- A pair of events this weekend on the Eastern Shore will benefit Terry Fent, the Summerdale Police Officer who was injured in a single-vehicle accident while off duty in February.

A 14-year veteran of law enforcement, Fent is a native of Robertsdale and served with the Silverhill Police Department before being rehired by the Summerdale Police Department last November.

Because Fent was still under a three-month probationary period as a condition of his hire, he did not have any health insurance, said Summerdale Police Chief Eddie Ingram at the time of the accident. The police department has set up a fund to help the wounded officer pay medical expenses related to the accident. He was just seven days from receiving full benefits from the department when the accident occurred.

“I consider myself to be very, very blessed,” said Fent in a phone interview from the Summerdale Police Department last month.

Fent is now recovering at home after spending 19 days in recovery at USA Medical Center in Mobile. He broke his back in two places near his neck and his lower back, suffered massive head injuries and a spinal cord injury in the accident, which occurred in the early morning hours while on his way to training on Saturday, Feb. 18.

Six days after the accident, Fent was up and walking. Two days before he was released on March 8, Fent said, he had the staples removed from his head. Less than a week later he had the staples taken out of his stomach and said at the time doctors told him they expected a full recovery within 12 weeks after the date of the accident.

Two fundraisers scheduled for this weekend in Fairhope will be added to three fundraisers already held in the area for Fent.

A friend of Fent’s,  Hillary Johnson, along with her friend, Candie Koenig, organized a pair of benefits, one held March 3 at Garrett Park in Robertsdale, and softball games between firefighters and police department officers held Saturday, March 17 at the Barnwell ball fields, which drew enough to have seven teams, according to the Facebook site Officer Fent Support Page.

On March 23, a benefit fish fry at the Summerdale Municipal Complex raised over $9,000 to help with Fent’s medical bills, Ingram said.

On Saturday, April 21, from noon to 5 p.m., there will be a benefit barbecue at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 43 at County Road 13 and Manley Road in Fairhope.

Rib dinners, including cole slaw and baked beans, will be sold. There will also be live music, a raffle and bake sale. Ribs are being donated by D.J. Mottern Jr. in memory of Elberta Assistant Chief Donald Mottern.

A Mosin-Nagant World War II sniper rifle, donated by GoldMine Pawn Shop will be raffled off. Tickets are available at GoldMine Pawn Shop, from the Silverhill Police Department or at the F.O.P. Lodge, said Silverhill Police Chief Kim Wasdin.

The event is sponsored by the Silverhill Police Department, Mom & Pops in Silverhll and Thredz by Libby.

The event is still in need of raffle prizes, Wasdin said. For more information contact Ron Bankston, 979-8494; Wasdin at 504-8973, or John McDonald, 370-5098.

“We’re also going to help in whatever way we can with Sunday’s event at Oak Hollow,” Wasdin said.

On Sunday, April 22, there will be a Drawdown fundraiser and benefit concert at Oak Hollow Farms, located off of Greeno Road (U.S. Highway 98)in Fairhope.

The event will begin with a motorcycle ride, which begins at The Battleship and ends at Oak Hollow Farm. Riders are scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. with the ride set to begin at 10 a.m. and end at noon for lunch at Oak Hollow Farms.

Plates, including Boston butt, potato salad and baked beans, cost $8 and will be served beginning at noon.

The Drawdown event runs through 4 p.m. with tickets costing $100 each for a chance to win $5,000.

There will also be a silent auction with prizes including a Big Green Egg, Saban signed footballs, a tankless water heater from Affordable Plumbing, a Jimmy Johnson #48 tire, a one-hour private airplane ride for two and a three-night stay at a condo in Orange Beach.

There will also be a chicken bingo drop with live chickens and live entertainment provided by The Modern Eldorados.

Sunday’s event is being organized by Allyson M. Wellborn-Fuqua. For more information on the benefit contact Wellborn-Fuqua at 251-424-4206.

 “Words cannot express how much I appreciate all the cards, words of encouragement and all the volunteers and people who came out to the benefits,” Fent said in the March interview. “I can never repay everyone for all they’ve done, but I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying.”

Donations can also still be delivered to the Summerdale Police Department or mailed to the Summerdale Municipal Complex at 502 W. Lee Ave., Summerdale, AL 36580. Donors should make checks payable to Terry Fent. For more information call the Summerdale Police Department at 251-989-7777.