The fifth annual Airdrie Dream Vacation Lottery, put on by the Airdrie Knights of Columbus, continues to raise money for local charities with their year-long prize draws.
While it depends on the annual budget, Knights of Columbus member Wayne MacGillivary said donations add up to roughly $15,000 each year, and all proceeds from the lottery support local charities.
“We don't keep any of it, all the proceeds are donated,” MacGillivary said.
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic service organization, and has been active in Airdrie since the 1980s. Airdrie’s organization currently has 212 members.
MacGillivary, who was previously involved with another charitable lottery when he lived in Nova Scotia, brought the idea to Airdrie and organized the first lottery in 2018.
He said the lottery is a way to support charities while at the same time entering to win either a $2,500 dream vacation every month or four draws of $120 per month.
“The trips are at the discretion of the traveller – they can decide what they want to do,” MacGillivary said. “They can use it for plane travel, all-inclusive vacations, they can use it for cruises, but not many people are doing that right now. If you win, your trip doesn't expire, it's held for you until you use it.”
The trips are donated and set up via Carlson Wagonlit Travel in Calgary.
With 69 prizes and monthly chances to win travel vouchers and cash, the incentives are plentiful, and the group has raised over $70,000 for local charities since the first lottery in 2018.
Some of the charities that benefit from the lottery include the Airdrie Food Bank, Airdrie P.O.W.E.R., Airdrie & District Hospice Society, Rocky View Foundation, Airdrie & District Separate and Public School Parent Councils, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Coats for Kids, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, and Feed the Hungry.
“It takes a lot of commitment and hard work to run [the lottery], it's basically run by a small committee of council but the committee depends on not only the support of the council but also the local community as we reach out for sponsorships,” MacGillivary said.
He added that the group has received a lot of support from the community and businesses over the last four years.
Money prizes from the lottery are funded by ticket sales for the lottery, while gift cards from Save-On-Foods, CO-OP, and Carlson Wagonlit Travel are donated, he said.
While COVID-19 hasn’t stopped the Knights from selling lottery tickets in the last two years, they haven’t been able to set up in local grocery stores, hardware stores, or the mall, like they did prior to the pandemic.
Instead, lottery organizers have emphasized online ticket sales through the website, as well as through the St. Pauls Parish in Airdrie on weekends.
The lottery provides a lot of support to local charities at a difficult time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this isn’t the only way the Knights help out in the community.
According to MacGillivary, they are involved in other local initiatives like Coats for Kids, Special Olympics Airdrie, and a basketball free-throw event.
“The Knights themselves are an important community organization and we support many different activities as well as donating to charities,” MacGillivary said.
The remaining draws for the 2021 lottery take place on Feb. 6 and March 6.
An early-bird draw for the 2022 lottery was done in December, with the next one following on Feb. 14. The first official draw for the 2022 lottery takes place on April 3.
Only 600 tickets are printed, and for winners who don’t wish to travel, they can take 80 per cent of the voucher value in cash, or roughly $2,000.
All winning tickets are returned to the drum, including previous winners, for all future draws.
The lottery is promoted throughout the province and any Albertan is allowed to purchase tickets. Tickets are $120 at airdriedreamvacation.ca
