For the fourth year in a row the Boys & Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters Dream Home Lottery homes are located in St. Albert.
This year the two homes are situated on 82 and 84 Enchanted Way in Erin Ridge North. The winner of the lottery gets to pick their favourite home between the two.
Lana Tordoff, marketing and communications manager for Boys & Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters said that the money raised through the home lottery campaign accounts for one sixth of the annual budget.
“It is our largest annual fundraiser and it's money that can’t be replaced. We know that we have to have it in our coffers,” Tordoff said.
Tordoff said that the money they make off the project fluctuates but they typically make around $1 million.
“It is not an easy thing to run a lottery and you have to be quite diligent. We are very close to the project and we invest a lot of ourselves in it,” Tordoff said.
The money raised touches almost all of the 100 programs that are run through the Edmonton area, including nine neighbourhood clubs, after-school programming, homework help, nutrition and meal planning and programs for newcomers to Canada.
“We have program for kids in government care, kids who are gender questioning, kids who are struggling to come to terms with their gender identity,” Tordoff said.
Tordoff said that the programs reach more than 5,300 kids in the Edmonton area.
“We are able to reach so many kids and the impact can be life-changing and we are only able to do that with the support of the community,” Tordoff said.
Tordoff said tickets for the home start at $25 and tickets for the Win50 start at $5 to help keep the program accessible to everyone. Typically they sell about 400,000 tickets for the Dream Home Lottery and over 300,000 for the Win50.
The homes
This year one of the homes, built by Veneto Custom Homes, is a 2113-square foot bungalow with a loft. It has an open concept kitchen and a main floor master suite. The home also has a loft with an attached bathroom that can be used as an office or a fourth bedroom.The basement has a theatre room and two bedrooms, which each have their own bathroom. The garage has a built-in dog wash.
The second home, built by Alves Development, is a 2310-square foot home with a second half storey. The upper level is home to a private master bedroom with a large closet. The bedroom also has a large en suite bath with a steam shower for two and a freestanding tub. The large kitchen has a coffee bar and a walk-in pantry.
The basement is open with a theatre room and bar along with two additional bedrooms. The home also has a three-season sitting room with a gas fireplace.
The winner of the home lottery will get to choose their favourite of the two homes, each valued at over $1 million and it will come fully furnished, with landscaping. The winner will also receive $150,000 in cash.
Tordoff said that both builders are heavily invested in St. Albert and Landrex Development also works with them for the project.
“We have a distinct connection in the St. Albert community,” Tordoff said.
This year an early bird draw has been included and three draws for cash will be held.
On Feb. 23 a draw will be held for $30,000 cash. The second draw will take place on March 2 for $20,000 and tickets will have to be purchased before Feb. 16 at 11 a.m. The final early bird draw will happen on May 4 for $10,000 and tickets have to be purchased before April 20 at 11 p.m. Additional early bird draws will take place with $1,000 being given away for all 30 days in March. The deadline to enter is March 30 at 11 p.m. and the draw date is April 13 at noon.
Anyone who wins the early bird prizes will have their ticket placed back in the drum and be eligible to win further prizes.
Along with the draw for the home there is a separate draw for a Win50 Jackpot, which is a fifty-fifty prize in its fifth year. As of press time, the total is up to $528,895 and the winner will take half.
Last year the Win50 winner took home $496,000.
“That is a life-changing amount of money,” Tordoff said.
The draw will be held on May 28 at 12 noon and tickets have to be purchased by May 7 at 11 p.m. Tickets can be purchased individually for $5 or in a package of 10 tickets for $25 or 30 tickets for $50.
To see photos of the homes, take a virtual tour or to buy tickets visit www.bigbrothershomelottery.org/#countdown. Tickets can be purchased through the phone or at the homes.
The homes are open for tours from Monday to Thursday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays the homes are open from noon to 5 p.m.
Tordoff said that they plan on returning to St. Albert in 2019 for the Dream Home Lottery.
