After 10 weeks of ticket sales and tremendous support from across the community of Chatham-Kent, a winner has been announced for the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation’s (CKHAF) Igniting Healthcare 50/50 FUNdraiser. This year’s fundraiser ended on Wednesday, July 13th with a grand total of $253,680 raised, and on Monday, Mike Veres of Chatham claimed the 50/50’s $126,840 jackpot!
“I buy these 50/50 tickets every year, because I know that they are for a good cause. This year, I bought them online the morning of the draw,” says Mike. “A few days later, I saw an email come in from the Foundation with the winning ticket number, so I checked my tickets, and it turned out that we had the winner!”
“I didn’t believe it,” adds Mike’s wife, Wendy. “I thought that it had to be some sort of mistake.”
It was no mistake. Mike and Wendy had hit the jackpot! As proud parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, they plan to share the winnings with their family. They also hope to hold on to some of it in order to travel and purchase a new vehicle in the near future. With a $126,840 windfall, the possibilities are endless!
This marks the fourth consecutive year in which the Igniting Healthcare 50/50 FUNdraiser has awarded a jackpot in excess of $100,000. Since its inception in 2019, the fundraiser has raised a grand total of $1,160,300, with half of those funds paid out to the winners, and the other half used to purchase life-saving equipment for Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA). Proceeds from this fundraiser will support the purchase of two new Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) units for CKHA; one for each of the Chatham and Wallaceburg sites.
“I would like congratulate Mike for winning this year’s life-changing jackpot, and thank our amazing community for their incredible support of this fundraiser each and every year,” says Mary Lou Crowley, President and CEO of CKHAF. “We heard from so many people throughout Chatham-Kent about the critical need for these PFT units at both our Chatham and Wallaceburg sites. Working together, the money that we raised will have a profound impact on local healthcare for years to come.”
The grand prize draw was held at 1pm at 785 St Clair St in Chatham, the future home of Igniting Healthcare 50/50 sponsors Maple City Homes, MCH Realty Group, AgriRoots Capital Management Inc., and FamilyLending.ca Inc. The MCH family of companies has partnered with the Foundation as sponsor of this fundraiser since its inception in 2019.
“We are profoundly grateful for Robb Nelson and the teams at Maple City Homes, MCH Realty Group, AgriRoots Capital Management Inc., and FamilyLending.ca Inc.,” states Bob Hockney, Chair of the CKHAF Board of Directors. “Robb and his team have been with us since the very beginning of this fundraiser, and together we have raised an astounding amount of money in support of our local hospital sites!”
This year’s 50/50 launched on Monday, May 2nd, with ticket sales available online and in-person throughout the campaign. A total of 7,031 tickets comprised of 806,500 numbers were sold over the course of the campaign, with 75% of the tickets purchased online at www.ignite5050.ca.
Igniting Healthcare 50/50 FUNdraiser is licensed by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) and conducted in accordance with AGCO-approved rules that can be found on the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance Foundation (CKHAF) website at ckhaf.ca. The draw was performed 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.
