Looking for the Luck o’ the Irish? Take a chance for a good cause with the 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. Only 300 tickets will be sold to keep the odds of winning high.
This year’s event, the 14th annual, will take place on Saturday, March 14th, beginning at 6 p.m., at The Crystal Room, 49 Cedar Street, Milford, MA. While you do not need to be present to win, each ticket entitles the holder and a guest to attend the drawing event. The event includes a buffet dinner, a cash bar, consolation prizes, a silent auction, and raffles. There are many different ways to win in addition to the grand prize!
The 11th Ticket raffle allows participants who get knocked out of the drawing early a “second chance” to get back in the game and adds to the suspense. Holliston Lions 2nd Vice President, Debbie Kerrigan, 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, those people are out of the final drawing,” says Kerrigan. “Then, when we get down to 10 tickets, we draw one from the 11th tickets. 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.”
These 11th ticket chances will be sold for $10 throughout the evening, explains Debbie.
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 Kerrigan, although to date, that has never happened. If they choose to go on, the number holders continue to be eliminated one by one. As each number is eliminated the remaining ticket holders get the chance walk away, splitting the prize, or go on. BUT the decision must be unanimous. Consolation prizes are given to the last 10 ticket holders. Last year we were down to four ticket holders who agreed to split the prize and win $2,500 each.
“There are scattered consolation prizes throughout the first 290, too,” says Kerrigan. The number of consolation and raffle prizes, she says, depends on the number of prizes donated to the Holliston Lions for the event. Debbie expressed gratitude for all the businesses who have generously donated prizes each year. “We already have some great prizes lined up for this year!”
The evening will also feature other fun ways to win, including a 50/50 raffle, a raffle for $100 dollars’ worth of scratch tickets, a silent auction, a live auction and a hope chest style raffle, in which folks can purchase sheets of tickets and place their tickets in containers next to the prize they “hope” to win. Our popular Pop a Balloon for a Prize will once again be offered, in which balloons, with prizes enclosed, will be available for sale. “Everyone who buys a balloon wins some kind of prize,” explains Kerrigan. “Each prize is worth at least what you pay for the balloon.”
“The nice thing about the Big Raffle fundraiser is that you can justify the $100 dollars,” says Kerrigan. “You can bring someone with you, and you both get a buffet dinner. It’s a fun night. It’s a great way to get out and spend a night and support a good cause.”
Kerrigan explains that the Big Raffle proceeds help 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 high school seniors
• $10,000 to Massachusetts Lions Eye Research Fund
• $1,500 to the Holliston Pantry Shelf
• $500 to the Holliston Senior Center
• $2,500 to Holliston Athletic Boosters Association
• $500 to the Holliston Music and Arts Parent Association,
• $1000 to Holliston Tax Relief Fund, and
• $1,000 to the Holliston Community Farm
Tickets for Winning O’ the Green Big Raffle can be purchased at the Holliston Lions’ website, www.hollistonlions.org. For more information contact Chairperson, Lion Debbie Kerrigan at [email protected].
Issue Date:
March, 2020
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