Pictured above: Carol Heuvelmans (right), winner of the Igniting Healthcare Holiday 50/50’s grand prize jackpot of $59,545, poses here with husband Leo (left) and daughter Courtney (middle).
Following four weeks of strong ticket sales and overwhelming support from across the community, the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation (CKHAF) drew the winning ticket number for the Igniting Healthcare Holiday 50/50 on Thursday, December 21 at the Foundation office, situated at 9 Ursuline Avenue in Chatham. The Foundation’s inaugural Holiday 50/50 proved to be a tremendous success, raising an impressive total of $119,090. On Thursday afternoon, the coveted $59,545 jackpot was awarded to Carol Heuvelmans from Erieau.
“I worked at the hospital for eighteen years, so I’ve been supporting the Foundation’s 50/50s since the beginning, but I never actually thought I would win,” said Carol. “This is an amazing Christmas surprise, and I think I might spoil some of my loved ones a little more this year.”
Carol purchased her ticket – which included the lucky winning number CK-7813872 – online on November 29. She has supported the summer edition of this lottery every year since 2019. In addition to sharing some of her winnings with loved ones over the holidays, she and her husband, Leo, also plan to use some of the money towards a trip to Portugal next year.
With the completion of the first-ever Holiday edition of this fundraiser, the Igniting Healthcare 50/50 FUNdraiser has now raised a grand total of over $1.5 million since its inception in 2019. Half of those funds have been paid out to the winners, and the other half have been used to purchase life-saving equipment for Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA).
“We are so excited to congratulate Carol for winning this wonderful early Christmas gift,” said Christine Mitchell, President & CEO of CKHAF. “With the success that this fundraiser has during the summer, we knew that our community would step up in support of this Holiday 50/50, and we were not disappointed. These 50/50s give us a chance to give back to the amazing community members who support us year in and year out, and we really couldn’t be happier for Carol and her family.”
Proceeds from this Holiday 50/50 will support the areas of greatest need at CKHA’s Chatham and Wallaceburg sites.
“Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to talk to so many people from across Chatham-Kent who really understand the importance of fundraisers like this to support our local hospital,” Mitchell stated. “The funds that we’ve raised together over the past four weeks will have a real, meaningful impact on healthcare in Chatham-Kent for years to come, so we’re all big winners at the end of the day!”
The Igniting Healthcare Holiday 50/50 included three Early Bird Draws that were held every Thursday throughout the campaign.
- Kimberly Gaiswinkler from Pain Court won the first Early Bird Draw for a $500.00 cash prize, generously donated by Kent & Essex Mutual Insurance, on November 30th.
- Cheryl Phipps from Chatham won the second Early Bird Draw for a 75L Chilly Moose Explorer Cooler, generously donated by Schinkels’ Gourmet Meats, on December 7th.
- Liz Wade from London won the third and final Early Bird Draw for a $1,000.00 cash prize plus a two-night stay at The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Montreal, generously donated by TTI Travel, on December 14th.
Carol now joins the list of past summer Igniting Healthcare 50/50 winners that includes Bert Vanderheide of Blenheim, Emily Geroux of Highgate, life-long friends Rick De Marse, Paul Ballay, and James Desjardins of Tecumseh, Mike Veres of Chatham, and John Schinkel of Chatham.
This Holiday 50/50 launched on Thursday, November 23rd, with ticket sales available online at www.ignite5050.ca and in-person at the CKHAF office.
Igniting Healthcare 50/50 FUNdraiser (License No. RAF1307482) was licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and conducted in accordance with AGCO-approved rules that can be found on the Igniting Healthcare 50/50 FUNdraiser’s website at ignite5050.ca. The draw was made using Random Number Generation (RNG) – a proven technology approved by the AGCO. Ascend Fundraising Solutions provided the technical and systems expertise for sales, accounting, and the draw.
