After seeing the success of its Cattle er' Cash lottery in March, HALO has launched a fundraising 50/50 draw, with a minimum cash prize of $50,000 available.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
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HALO Air Ambulance launched a 50/50 fundraiser Friday with a possible jackpot of $125,000 for the winner, and a minimum payout of $50,000.
The 50/50 raffle comes on the heels of the air ambulance’s HALO Cattle er’ Cash Lottery fundraiser in March, which sold out in 36 days.
“Certainly, the success of the HALO Cattle er’ Cash Lottery was a big inspiration for this, but we also saw a lot of people asking us about taking the 50/50 tickets as part of the lottery and didn’t do that last time. So, we saw the demand for a 50/50 throughout the process and we wanted to make sure we responded quickly to what our supporters were saying,” said CEO Paul Carolan.
If the 50/50 tickets sell out, the $125,000 will cover five per cent of HALO’s annual operating budget. Carolan says its annual operating budget is $3 million, or $250,000 a month. He adds the majority of funds raised in the 50/50 will go directly toward operating costs of the helicopter.
Carolan says Alberta Health Services contributed less than six per cent of its budget in 2020 and they rely heavily on the community. HALO can’t get people together in person for fundraisers, so it has turned to virtual fundraising to help keep serving the community.
“This allows us to continue to bring our helicopter online and serve the community 365 days a year, and we respond to not only calls from AHS for air ambulance work, but we also respond to calls from law enforcement, search and rescue, fire and rescue and disaster emergency response,” said Carolan.
“We really are a by community, for community resource and we’re here to make sure that in those emergency situations that we can provide the most comprehensive coverage with the most capable aircraft we have.”
The 50/50 draw is the latest in a series of COVID-19 compliant fundraisers for HALO that are keeping the helicopter flying during a pandemic that almost grounded them. In March 2020, HALO made a plea to the Alberta government asking for support with COVID-19 restrictions impacting its more traditional fundraising.
Tickets can be purchased with a credit card online at http://www.haloairambulance.com and tickets will be emailed virtually. People can buy one ticket for $10, 10 for $30, 20 for $50 or 50 for $100.
