Looking for the Luck O’ the Irish? Take a chance for a good cause with the annual Holliston Lions Club Winning O’ the Green Big Raffle, in which you can spend the evening with the Holliston Lions and get a chance to win a $10,000 grand prize.
This year’s event, the 13th annual, will take place on Saturday, March 23rd, beginning at 6 p.m., at St. Joseph’s Parish Hall, 145 Holliston St., Medway, MA. The event, originally modeled after one the Belmont Lions Club held, sells just 300 tickets each year, to keep the odds of winning high.
Spend an evening with the Holliston Lions and have a chance to win the $10,000 grand prize. The event will feature a buffet dinner (with a cash bar) for two with each ticket sold.
In addition to the grand prize, attendees will have other opportunities to win, according to Holliston‘s 2nd Vice President Matt Putvinski. This year, Ahronian Landscaping will sponsor an 11th ticket, adding to the suspense.
Putvinski explains how the process works.
“What happens is, the first 290 tickets are drawn out in rounds of 10, and as those numbers are announced, that person’s out of the final drawing,” says Putvinski. “Then, when we get down to 10 tickets, we draw one from the 11th tickets.” These 11th ticket chances will be sold for $10 throughout the evening, explains Matt.
The 11th ticket holder then becomes number 11, and the game proceeds with one more person of the remaining 11 eliminated, bringing the number back to 10.
Last year, the 11th ticket holder became one of the finalists for the grand prize, says Putvinski, and that person won the ticket in a separate “Pop the Balloon for a Prize” sale also held the same night. Balloons, with prizes
enclosed, will once again be available for sale this year.
“Everyone that buys a balloon gets some kind of prize,” explains Putvinski. “It’s worth at least what you’re paying.”
Once the 10 remaining finalists are standing for the $10,000 cash prize, all ten can agree to walk away with $1,000 apiece, says Putvinski, although to date, that has never happened. If they choose to go on, the number holders are eliminated, with consolation prizes for those among the 10 whose numbers get called.
“There are scattered consolation prizes throughout the first 290, too,” says Putvinski. The number of consolation and raffle prizes, he says, depends on the number of prizes donated to the Holliston Lions for the event.
The evening will also feature other fun ways to win, including a 50/50 raffle, a raffle for $100 dollars’ worth of scratch tickets, and a hope chest raffle style, in which folks can purchase sheets of tickets and place tickets in containers next to the prize they hope to win.
“The nice thing about this (fundraiser) is you can justify the $100 dollars,” says Putvinski. “You can bring someone with you, and you both get a buffet dinner catered by the 45 Restaurant. It’s a fun night. It’s a great way to get out and spend a night and support a good cause.”
Putvinski explains that proceeds support Holliston Lions charities, about 60% of which go back into Holliston. Some of the ways Holliston Lions gave back last year include:
$12,500 in scholarships for Holliston seniors
$10,000 to Massachusetts Lions Eye Research
$2,700 to the Holliston Pantry Shelf
$500 to the Holliston Senior Center
$2,500 to Holliston Athletic Boosters
$1,000 to the Holliston Music and Arts Parent Association, and
$1,500 to the Holliston Community Farm
Tickets for Winning O’ the Green can be purchased at the Holliston Lions’ website, www.hollistonlions.org. For more information contact Chairman, Lion Matt Putvinski at [email protected]