Raffle Fundraising to Help the Sick and Injured
Many thanks to Ani Maroyan for a fine and insightful “Impact a Life†college scholarship essay that highlights why selling raffle tickets for your fundraiser is a great way to raise money.
Ani relates some wonderful and personal insights as to why holding a raffle is not only a great fundraising opportunity but also specifies how it helped Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, Canada raise funds for a very worthy cause.
Ani is a Psychology major at UMass Amherst. Thanks so much Ani, and good luck with your studies!
“Impact a Life†Scholarship contributor: Ani Maroyan
Yþu ÑÂðn hõlÑ€ Ani Maroyan’s pursuit þf a scholarship award bу ÑÂlÑ–ÑÂkÑ–ng the “sharing Ñ–Ñ• ÑÂðrÑ–ng†buttþnÑ• bõlþw.
For as long as I can remember I’ve always dreamed of someday becoming a doctor, as many children do. Beginning at the age of 10 when I organized my first fundraiser for the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, Canada, I began to work to make this dream a reality. For $1 a raffle ticket or $5 for six, I put together 10 cookie baskets as a prize for an individual from each grade (pre-k to 8th) to win in the raffle. Within one week I was able to raise $150 because of my promotion of the raffle over the school speakers, announcing daily my intention to raise funds for cancer research.
Soon after the money was sent to the hospital, my school received a letter in my name inviting me to a gala in which I was being honored for my contribution. Although I did not make a large impact on finding a cure for cancer, I took pride in knowing that I had helped raise money for someone who was in need of the supplies that my funds could provide. This fundraiser was the beginning of my growing interests in the field of medicine.
During my freshman year, I broke my hip playing in my high school basketball game and had to undergo surgery the following year. Though my recovery was in no way easy, I found that I came out of the operation with more self-knowledge and awareness than I had going into it. I learned that from being tested on my physical and emotional limits, I built on my ever-growing character. Being pushed beyond my comfort zone to learn how to walk again translated into also pushing myself mentally when I returned to school after recovering for nearly two months.
My time at the hospital allowed me to experience firsthand the works of my doctors on both toiling to rebuild my physical strength, and also bolstering confidence I had in myself. This is something I never imagined experiencing as a young child raising money for, luck have it, people like myself in just a few years. From my team of doctors I learned that the ultimate test of strength and determination is overcoming the most difficult of obstacles in life. With my childhood dreams of helping sick and injured people along with the never ending will of my own doctors to get me back on my feet, I confirmed my innate desire of becoming a doctor. I wanted to build the sense of hope in others that my doctors had built in me.
The summer following my hip surgery, I began volunteering at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA. Over the last four summers I have worked in three different departments to help guide me in selecting which medical profession I want to pursue. The Neurology department has been the most captivating because it combines my love for the sciences with the opportunity to work with acclaimed professional neurologists. Although my job can be difficult at times when patient diagnoses are severe, my decision to pursue this career path means that by witnessing others’ pain, I might one day be able to find a solution to their sufferings.