United Way of Lake County Kicks Off Virtual Raffle to Benefit Lake County Relief Fund
April 21, 2020 – Mentor, OH – United Way of Lake County (UWLC) kicked off the first of a three-part virtual raffle today that’s being held to raise donations for the Lake County Relief Fund they established mid-March. The virtual raffle gives residents the opportunity to purchase entries online for a chance to win over 50 raffle prizes while helping the community.
A full 100% of proceeds raised from the online raffle will be put back into Lake County in support of critical needs that have been brought on by the Coronavirus.
The idea for the virtual raffle came about due to cancellation of the organization’s largest annual fundraiser of the year. The Celebrity Server event was originally scheduled to take place March 12, 2020 and was expected to raise an approximate $50,000.
According to Vanessa Tey Iosue, UWLC 2019 Campaign Chair and President of Burges & Burges Strategists, “Retooling the event that we spent months planning was absolutely critical. Our community needs the funds now more than ever and we already had so many valuable gift baskets donated by community servers and local businesses that converting it to a virtual raffle just made sense. This is an easy way to help your neighbors while abiding by the stay-at-home-order.”
Tami Lewis, UWLC Marketing and Communications Director said, “We are immensely grateful to Vanessa and all of our Celebrity Servers, who were eager to find a new way to raise donations in lieu of the cancelled fundraiser. They came up with the idea of transforming into ‘Community Servers’ and their goal is to raise $15,000 to benefit the work we are doing for our community.”
UWLC is raffling off over 50 prizes via three back to back week-long Raffle Basket Bonanzas that are being held online. Anyone 18 years or older is able to participate and buy “entries” for any number of prizes they are interested in. The first raffle features eighteen prizes, some of which include an iPad donated by Simon Bromfield of The Lubrizol Corporation, an $800 basket of products and services donated by Ladies & Gentlemen Salon & Spa, a boys Mountain Bike donated by the Lake County NAACP, a backyard Storage Bench donated by SAM’S Club and much more.
The first of three raffles began today and can be accessed at go.rallyup.com/raffle1. This raffle will run through Monday, April 27, 2020, and the winners will be selected Tuesday, April 28, 2020.
The second raffle will run from Tuesday, April 28, 2020 through Monday, May 4, 2020, and the winners will be selected on Tuesday, May 5, 2020. The link for the second raffle isn’t live yet but can be accessed beginning April 28th at go.rallyup.com/raffle2. The third and final raffle will run from Tuesday, May 5, 2020 through Monday, May 11, 2020 and the winners will be selected on Tuesday, May 12, 2020. The URL address to access this virtual raffle is go.rallyup.com/raffle3 and will be live beginning May 11th.
Money raised for UWLC’s Lake County Relief Fund is being provided on a rolling basis. As of this date, funds have been used in support of the following: a Home-Delivered Grocery program serving over 400 home bound seniors each week; Project Hope for the Homeless to assist with the extended hours the shelter has established for our homeless to provide safe refuge from the streets where they are vulnerable to falling ill; the Lake County Free Clinic to help uninsured and underinsured Lake County residents access medical care due to the large influx in need the clinic is experiencing from those who have lost jobs and health insurance; The Prescription Assistance Program of Ohio (Lake County) to help with the increased demand they are facing from those in need of free prescription assistance; Food for the over 40 Lake County food banks UWLC helps support; and the Lake County YMCA’s licensed pandemic approved child care centers in Willoughby, Painesville and Madison for essential workers.
Anyone interested in making a donation to the Lake County Relief Fund instead of participating in the virtual raffle can do so in one of three ways: online at uwlc.org/give; by texting LCRelief to 44321; or by mailing a check payable to United Way of Lake County to United Way of Lake County, ATT: Lake County Relief, 9285 Progress Pkwy, Mentor, OH 44060.
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