Fifth 50/50 Winner Donates $5,000 Back
(January 4, 2022 - PORT COLBORNE) Another Port Colborne resident wins a Port Cares 50/50 draw. Kathy Pitkin is the New Year’s Day winner of $37,505. Pitkin and her husband brought a generous cheque of their own; donating $5,000 of the winnings back to the wraparound agency.
“I just couldn’t believe it when I got the news,” says Kathy Pitkin. “I have supported previous draws and encourage everyone to do so. It not only supports the community…it’s fun!”
Pitkin’s son and husband used to be volunteers at the Reach Out Centre—a much-missed service that has been another thing the pandemic has taken from the agency.
The Pitkin family plan on using their winnings to complete renovations on their home and “I still have no idea what to do!” said Kathy.
This is the second largest prize for Port Cares’ online draws. The biggest winner was Tami Reimer of Welland, who took home $42,660 in June.
“These draws are exhilarating for us,” says Christine Clark Lafleur, executive director of Port Cares. “The beginning was a huge success and certainly the tail end. Over $20,000 in tickets was sold in the last 48 hours!”
“We’re extremely grateful to Kathy for her generous donation back,” says Clark Lafleur. “This helps us cover costs associated with hosting the online event and every penny counts these days, when we’re helping more people than ever before.”
Funds raised from the draw go directly towards the food bank and meal program that operate out of their Reach Out Centre. Funds that are crucial, now more than ever, as Port Cares has seen an increase of 34 percent in people needing food bank support since the pandemic began and the numbers for their meal program have doubled. No government funding is received for the Reach Out Centre.
The draw transpired out of a need to recoup $150,000 in lost funding that was usually raised through fundraising events, which were cancelled due to the pandemic. This is fifth out of six draws slated for Port Cares.
There were actually 13 winners for this draw, with the ’12 Days of Christmas Giveaways’ that took place December 12-23.
Dec. 12 - Robert Majkut
Dec. 13 - Chris Coulis
Dec. 14 - Anne Marie Montani
Dec. 15 - Eleanor Hurst
Dec. 16 - J.T. Lewis
Dec. 17 - Andrea Mamo (Donated a portion back!)
Dec. 18 - Ralph Dekker
Dec. 19 - Richard Dennis
Dec. 20 - Chris Coulis *DOUBLE-WINNER!*
Dec. 21 - Sharryn Oleskiw
Dec. 22 - Wendy Dyck
Dec. 23 - Jenny Anderson
“Here at Port Cares, our ability to serve the individuals, families and children who count on us has certainly taken a toll with the impact of Covid-19,” says Clark Lafleur. “Social distancing has limited the services we provide in-person while demand for assistance in areas like our meal program for low income people has skyrocketed. And now with the economic downturn coming out of the pandemic, we know that the need in our community is only bound to grow.”
Winners Re-Cap:
September 2020 – Michael Mamo of Port Colborne: $19,830
January 2021 – Marion Minor of Port Colborne: $27,465
June 2021 – Tami Reimer of Welland: $42,660
Sept 2021 – Bruce Wilson of Port Colborne: $34,155
January 2022 – Kathy Pitkin of Port Colborne: $37,505
The final draw is set to take place in March of this year.
Port Cares would like to thank their generous media sponsors: Giant FM, Country 89 FM, YourTV Niagara and Niagara This Week. As well, the Caring Supporters at the Port Colborne Downtown BIA, Welland Downtown BIA, Boggio Pharmacy, Super Mario’s Pizza, Lisa St. Amand, Winn’s Plumbing & Heating, Port Colborne Sobey’s, Steele & Clover, Melina’s Family Restaurant, Pet Valu Port Colborne, PartSource, Sewell’s Automotive (Napa Auto), No Frills Port Colborne, Food Basics Port Colborne, Grant’s Gifts & Picket Fence, Canadian Tire Port Colborne, Ben Berg Farm & Industrial Equipment and Harvey’s / Swiss Chalet Port Colborne.
