The Kinsmen Club of Red Deer presents its annual dream home fundraiser with ticket sales beginning on Saturday.
Just over 14,000 tickets have been printed for sale that enable buyers a chance to receive the 1,794 sq. ft. dream home located at 1 Lazaro Cl. in the new Laredo subdivision of the City. The home is valued at over $640,000.
“This year is the earliest we have been selling tickets and open so we are anticipating a sell-out. New this year we have added a loyalty draw as a bit of a bonus – if you buy your tickets on or before Oct. 26,” said 2014 Dream Home Chair Nabil Abu-Ulba.
“With that loyalty draw, you will be entered to win one of two sets of Red Deer Rebels home game tickets for November through till March or an individual cash prize of $1,000. We have three of those cash prizes to give away.”
The Kinsmen Club raises funds by selling the tickets to the dream home draw, the loyalty draw and a 50/50 draw. The tickets for the home are one for $100 or three for $250. Currently, the dream home tickets are only available online but will soon be available at various Servus Credit Union locations and at Sproule’s Mountview IDA on 43rd Ave.
“We only sell tickets for the dream home on the weekend from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. A lot of people come during the week expecting to buy tickets. Unfortunately, because we are all volunteers, we’ve only got people there on the weekend. They can buy them online after hours or during the week,” said Abu-Ulba.
50/50 tickets are one for $10, five for $25 and 15 for $50. The minimum payout for the 50/50 draw is $30,000 to a maximum of $75,000 and tickets can be purchased separately from the dream home tickets.
Ticket lines shut down on 5 p.m. on Dec. 31st with both the dream home draw and the 50/50 draw announcements being made that evening. The early bird draw takes place on Nov. 28th and the loyalty draw will take place Oct. 29th. Winners will be posted on the www.reddeerkinsmen.com web site.
“The big thing is that all of the money from the dream home tickets stays in Central Alberta. During the year, different groups come to us and apply and give a presentation so we can decide where our money will go. We look at things like the group’s financial situation, how much fundraising they do and if their goals and values align with the Kinsmen Club’s,” said Abu-Ulba.
“We like to look into non-profits and we’ve also been helping out some schools lately with things like gym equipment. We don’t have a designated organization just yet for the organization that will benefit from the dream home sales, but the 50/50 draw money will be going to the Sylvan Lake Ambulatory Care Centre.”
Other prizes available include a 2014 Dodge Challenger R/T, trip for four to Puerto Vallarta, a travel trailer, an ATV, massage chairs, a home theatre package, a two-day Kootenay fishing charter and a one-year family pass to the Collicutt Centre.
The dream home is the main fundraiser for the annual Kinsmen Projects. In past years, the funds secured through dream home ticket sales have been designated to groups such as Red Deer Food Bank, Central Alberta Women’s Emergency Shelter, Hospice Society, Red Cross and the Youth & Volunteer Centre among many others.
kmendonsa@reddeerexpress.com
