As a way to raise some much-needed funds for a future expansion plan, executive members of Lac La Biche's McGrane Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion have got a big-ticket plan for a big-ticket prize.
Ken Staples, the local Legion's fundraising manager says a 50/50 raffle is now underway that will split a $20,000 pot between a lucky winner and the Legion's fundrasing account.
The raffle will see just 200 tickets printed — each costing $100 – with one lucky winner taking home $10,000.
"It's a small draw with a big prize," says Staples. "And with just 200 tickets, the odds are pretty good."
According to the Western Canadian Lottery Corporation, the odds of winning a major prize on any of their scratch tickets is about one in 1.3 million. The last Lotto649 draw, according to WCLC statistics, show the odds of getting three of the six numbers correct — for a $10 cash prize — was one in 57.
Along with the better odds, Staples said with proceeds of the raffle going towards a planned upgrade and expansion of the local Legion, all the tickets are winners.
"The Legion supports current and past service men and women, helps in the local community, and provides a link to the strong and proud history of Canada," he said.
Tickets for the raffle are available at the Lac La Biche Legion. Any Alberta resident who is 18 years of age and older is eligible to purchase tickets. To offer the chance to win to as many people as possible, a maximum of two tickets can be purchased by any one person.
"We want to get as much support as we can for our project and the raffle," said Staples, adding that the local legion building has seen a significant increase in support in recent months. "We've seen a lot of people at our Friday steak nights, lots of new faces, which is great to see."
One of the recent Friday night events drew more than 90 people to the lakeshore building, with many of them sitting on the outside patio.
Staples said the success of this first raffle will hopefully lead to more.
Fund raised by the raffles will go towards expansion plans that could include moving a historic portion of the building to make room for modernizations.
"The original 'cabin' that was our first building is more than 100 years old. We've built around it over the years, but we can't really expand anymore while it's still there. It's our museum and it's still in good shape," he said, suggesting that the cabin could be moved to another location where it could be a standalone structure or part of a larger historical display.
Staples didn't have a specific dollar amount on what new renovations would cost, but said there has been some financial support from the municipality in recent years. Lac La Biche County councillors did agree to offer $38,000 in financial support to the Legion fund in their 2024 budget if the organization can raise matching funds.
Staples says the 50/50 raffle, the weekly steak nights and other events will help them reach that goal.
The raffle draw for the $10,000 pirize will take place at the Legion steak night even on September 6.
