Community big winner in Lottery

Story and photos by Tina Hennigar
The Rural Riches 50/50 Toonie Lottery launched in 2019 is a community based project whose goal is to help sustain organizations through collective fundraising. To play folks needed to register for a number, and then pay to play by visiting a participating retail outlet.  The funds raised from the weekly 50/50 jackpot benefit a plethora of community organizations. with funds going to the United Way, The Lunenburg County Community Fund, Harbour House, Bridgewater Lions Club, to name a few.
The global pandemic affects everything, and for many groups and organizations in Lunenburg County, that meant their ability to fundraise was halted, as events, suppers and draws were put on hold, including the Toonie Lottery. The need for funding didn’t stop – but the shutdown left the group scrambling to find a way to help.
With the Toonie Lottery on hold the Rural Riches quickly launched a wholly online Raffle. Raffle players could sign-up and pay online, allowing Rural Riches to get begin raising funds again. Once restrictions eased and their retail partners were in a better place the Weekly 50/50 Toonie Lottery restarted. Today the online raffle is on hold, waiting in the wings should it be needed during a future lockdown. 
​The lottery itself runs like a well-oiled machine. Players register and play in retail boxes which volunteers pick up each week in time for the draw. Volunteers also ensure that registered numbers are added to the drum each week. Once the draw is made, the team verifies that the winning number was played that week. 
If the money was received the winner gets half the jackpot; if no money was received, then 50% of the jackpot gets added to the following week’s draw. The participating community organizations win every week. 
Community 50/50 lotteries are growing in popularity with no end in sight. These draws have helped community groups fundraise and are especially important as funds become even harder to raise. 
The local organizations that benefit from the draw are many and increase all the time. To learn more about them and how to play go to:  www.ruralriches.ca