More library fundraisers in the works

The “Building for the Future” fundraising campaign for a new library in Fort Frances so far has raised close to $404,000—more than halfway to its $750,000 goal.
Now organizers are ready to kick into high gear with more events and a raffle with lots of prizes in the coming months.
“There are some things in the works,” said campaign chair Mark Kowalchuk. “We had a bit of hiatus over the summer. I think everybody needed to recharge their batteries.
“We took a little bit of time to get things rolling again, but the donations have been coming in,” he added.
Following up the most recent event—“An Evening with Billy Andrusco,” a joint fundraiser with the Fort Frances Curling Club held Oct. 11 that drew a crowd of 361 people—will be “The Celtic Connection” on Saturday, Nov. 10.
“The Celtic Connection” evening will take place at the Little Beaver Snow Park starting at 6:30 p.m.
The dinner will feature a menu with fare such as Irish stew and Guinness, as well as an auction table with Irish-themed items and Celtic music courtesy of “The Mud Lake City Boys.”
Admission will be $15/person. Tickets are available at the library.
“I think it will be a lot of fun,” enthused Kowalchuk. “There was a lot of enthusiasm at the table when we were discussing the plans for it.”
But expected to be an even bigger fundraiser for the new library is an “elimination raffle,” the tickets for which will go on sale early next month (the committee is in the process of getting a lottery licence right now).
Kowalchuk explained a total of 1,000 tickets will be sold for $50 each, with 20 prizes eligible to be won. The draws all will take place Jan. 12 during a fundraiser evening at the Memorial Sports Centre auditorium.
It is called an “elimination raffle” because every ticket will be drawn. Tickets will be drawn in batches of 50, with the 50th from each batch winning the prize allocated for that batch (the winning ticket and the 49 before it will not be included in the next batch).
With 20 prizes up for grabs, that means 20 batches of 50 tickets will be drawn over the course of the evening.
The prizes will range from $10,000 to a 32” LCD TV, laptop computer, gold chain, leather recliner, a home theatre system, and a Nintendo Wii.
The draws will be made in order from lesser prizes to the $10,000 grand prize to build suspense for event-goers.
“Every ticket will get drawn and we’ve got 20 prizes to work our way through, so that person who hasn’t had their ticket drawn is getting a better and better chance to win the big value prize,” Kowalchuk explained.
“We’re kind of excited about this because this is the first time an ‘elimination draw’ has been done in Fort Frances, and I think this could become the signature draw event for the ‘Friends of the Library’ in the future if they choose to do this [again],” he added.
(While the fundraising committee will be taking care of ticket sales, the raffle itself is sponsored and supported by “The Friends of the Library”).
Details of the Jan. 12 fundraiser evening still are being worked out, but Kowalchuk said it also will feature live music and attendance prizes, and be built around the batches of draws.
Bell Canada is a major sponsor at this point.
Kowalchuk said the committee will be promoting the raffle tickets hard, and is hopeful they’ll sell out fast with so many great prizes up for grabs.
“They’re a great Christmas item,” he hinted.
Meanwhile, Kowalchuk said those wanting to support the new library fund directly with donations are encouraged to act sooner than later.
“We’d still like to get this all wrapped up by the end of the calendar year because we’ve already started working on the actual plans for the library, meeting with the architect and having discussions about what kind of things we’ll need,” he noted.
“So, we’re now kind of doing two jobs at the same time—the fundraising plus the actual development of plans for the library. We’d still like to turn sod in May.”
People can look at a five-year commitment when giving (whether they give it all at once, right up front, or whether they spread it out) and to donate what they feel is feasible or possible for them based on that criteria.
Payment options, like Mastercard, VISA, or automatic deductions from your paycheque, are available.
All donations over $25 will be issued a tax receipt.
Those who want to give should call the library at 274-9879 or drop by in person to get a pledge card.