THUNDER BAY — For the 39th time, the Fort William Rotary Club is going to put someone in a brand-new home.
The service club on Wednesday launched ticket sales for their annual House Lottery draw, unveiling a 1,360 square foot home at 138 Bruin Crescent, this year’s top prize valued at $816,000.
Last year’s draw raised nearly $700,000 for local organizations, said Cindy Levanto, chair of the House Lottery committee, and the charitable aspect of the draw is almost as enticing to ticket buyers as the house itself.
“First of all, it’s a chance for someone to win a beautiful dream home for the cost of a $100 ticket, or three for $250. There are 20,000 tickets available and the importance of the draw is that it’s been huge for our community, with almost $8 million going back to local charities over the last 39 years,” Levanto said.
The house itself is an ideal family home, she added.
The split-level house features four bedrooms, three bathrooms, including an ensuite in the primary bedroom, custom kitchen cabinetry, a gas fireplace, paved driveway and four appliances. There’s also an attached garage.
The reaction to each house never gets old, Levanto said.
“I love it when people come to the open houses and families are envisioning their space. They bring their children in and they’re saying, ‘This is going to be my bedroom.’ It’s really wonderful to see community members coming in and already living the dream and hoping they’ll win,” Levanto said.
“When you tell people how much money goes back to the community, that’s very meaningful.”
While there can only be one grand-prize winner in the July 1 draw, there are $50,000 worth of early-bird draws that will begin with $10,000 and $5000 prizes on May 2, and continue through June 25, when another $10,000 prize will be awarded.
Glenn Craig, president of the Fort William Rotary Club, said it’s hard to believe the House Lottery has been in place for 39 years, noting the ticket prices haven’t changed much since that first draw decades ago.
The impact of the fundraising total has been staggering.
“That’s a huge amount of money and that goes to everything from small organizations to some larger organizations that really makes an impact on our community, on people dealing with food insecurity, youth programs, health care, arts and culture – all for programs we support,” Craig said.
Craig said the thought of putting down a $100 bill for the chance at a life-changing prize is a pretty big enticement to anyone thinking about buying a ticket.
“That’s a pretty nice daydream for people to have. Besides winning the prize, knowing the money is going back to the community for programs that maybe you use, or maybe your kids or your grandkids use, feels really good. Everybody wants to win, but if you can’t win, at least you know you’re doing some good,” Craig said.
Tickets are available at the Thunder Bay 50/50 store at Intercity Shopping Centre, online at www.fwrotaryhouselottery.ca, or at coming open houses, which are expected to be offered starting sometime in May, when the weather clears up.
