A Raffle Fundraiser Gets Personal by Connor Auten
A Raffle Fundraiser Gets Personal by Connor Auten
In order to raise money to benefit one of the students in the school, my family and I took part in a raffle fundraising campaign. All of the money raised through this benefit was directly donated to the student’s family in order to obtain treatment at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. One of the students at our high school was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder and became bedridden for eleven months. She was totally dependent for care and relied on a feeding tube to stay alive. Despite traveling across our state, the family was unable to secure treatment to help her. However, Mayo Clinic in Minnesota agreed to see this student, but the family’s insurance would not cover the thousands of dollars of medical expenses. Because of this, a fundraiser Dance Marathon was held to defray the costs.
A large part of this fundraiser was securing donations through local area businesses and holding a raffle to increase the community donations. Both members of the school, as well as members of the community were invited to attend this event. Multiple area businesses donated items, some worth hundreds of dollars. Over $21,000 dollars were raised from this event and the raffle was an integral part of the contribution from hundreds of donors. Because in part of the raffle and attendance at this event, the family was able to go to Mayo Clinic. There, this student was able to get the diagnosis and treatment that had eluded the doctors in Indiana. This student began to walk again and was able to learn to eat. She came home without a wheelchair and without a nasojejunum tube. She returned to school and was able to attend it full time. This was truly a miracle and this would never have been possible without the donations of area businesses for the raffle and by the popularity of this fundraiser at the event. This had a significant impact on this family and this student. The mother was able to return to work and the student was able to begin to attend school again with her friends.
In addition, multiple area businesses benefitted due to their contributions to the raffle. Multiple new customers were secured and money spent was projected to be above the cost of the donation. In addition, the community rallied behind this student and was able to see the miraculous results that were produced from the money raised. This impact affected me personally as this student was my sister and best friend. It showed me the caring of local businesses and patrons who participated in this fundraising raffle. It also showed me what a school of only approximately 300 students could do for someone they cared about. Without this raffle, less money would have been raised by this fundraiser. It was absolutely an integral part of the donation pool with outstanding results that would not have been otherwise possible.
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Contributed by Connor Auten
November 24, 2015