Haven’t you ever wanted an outdoor kitchen? Or a yoga room? A theatre room? A walk-thru shower? A dog wash station? A wine cabinet? A kitchen island? How about two islands? These are just some of the impressive features of the three different houses.
Lana Tordoff, marketing and communications manager with Boys and Girls Clubs/Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Edmonton and area, said that these features of its dream home lottery houses are exactly what many luxury lovers want in a residence.
But what the organization’s 5,000 clients really want is a better life. Without the lottery, that’s just not possible. The goal is to bring $1 million into the organization’s coffers to help support its programs and services.
“It’s our biggest fundraiser by far, for sure. A million dollars … that’s almost 20 per cent of our budget. If you think about the current staffing and the structure and the facilities that we have right now functions for about 5,000 kids. Do we want that to be 4,000?” she said.
“We have roughly 1,200 kids still on our waiting list and people and community groups clamouring for more programming. We can’t afford to lose even what we’ve got. It’s just critical for us.”
Boys and Girls Club/Big Brothers and Big Sisters work to provide safe places and positive mentoring relationships for children and youths through various programs and special events. This is the organization’s biggest and most important fundraiser of the year and is followed by a golf tournament and a lobster gala a few months after that to help build up its coffers further.
Tordoff said that even though these big ticket lotteries have amazing prizes at stake, that doesn’t necessarily translate into big ticket sales. There are many things that can affect how responsive the public is to such fundraisers.
“This is my eighth lottery and it’s never easy. Not one year have I had a smooth ride and said, ‘Everything’s good.’”
She said that there are various things that can complicate these big ticket draws but one of the most important factors is making sure that people know what organization they’re supporting.
“People want to win something, there’s no doubt, but also the reputation and their own alignment to the cause is also really important.”
There is obviously a lot riding on these three fully furnished homes side by side at No. 8, No. 10, and No.12 Elaine Street in Erin Ridge North.
“Everything is done with such amazing style and it’s so functional. They’ve selected really amazing finishes. I think that’s what people have noticed the most. They’re beautiful. Each home is very, very unique and different from the others.”
Ticket packages start at $25 for a single and move up to $200 for a pack of 30 tickets. The grand prize is worth $1.2 million. The deadline for tickets is May 1 with the grand prize drawing to be held on May 15. There is also an early bird deadline too. Those with their tickets in hand before Feb. 1 have four chances to win $25,000.
Take a step over to check them out for yourself or visit www.bigbrothershomelottery.org to get a virtual tour.
