On April 30th at 11am, Adam Karvonen of Sault Ste. Marie, ON won $72,322.50 in the Sault Area Hospital Foundation’s (SAHF) April electronic and online 50/50 draw. His lucky number (F-1485905) was drawn electronically, and the winner was contacted immediately.
Adam received the ticket as a gift from his girlfriend. “She knows people that work at Sault Area Hospital and just wanted to support, especially with everything that is going on. We never thought we’d win, especially this much.” Adam says.
Adam was shocked to hear how high the prize grew. The ticket was purchased on April 12th, when the prize was only $12,000. Ticket purchasers continued to support over the final two and a half weeks and grew the prize to a record high.
“My girlfriend’s children are going to go to college or university one day, so this money is going to help make that less of a burden. We also had a grade 8 trip cancelled, so we’re going to make that up when it’s safe, we’ll take a nice family vacation.” says Adam about using the winnings.
100% of ticket sales were made online to ensure the safety of our community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This month was our first attempt at online only sales. We didn’t expect the tremendous support we received. This was incredibly exciting to watch. The funds we’ve raised this month are going to help make a difference in purchasing medical equipment for Sault Area Hospital. Every dollar is staying local.” said Teresa Martone, Executive Director of Sault Area Hospital Foundation. “We’ve been trying to pinpoint why the prize grew so high and the one thing we saw were our connected supporters purchasing tickets earlier in the month. All we can ask is if you are going to buy tickets in May; buy early.”
While provincial funding covers the operation of the hospital, the community buys the equipment used to provide care. Proceeds from SAHF lotteries (like SAHF 50/50) are used to purchase new technology and replace aging equipment at Sault Area Hospital.
The first piece of equipment that has been purchased with 50/50 proceeds is an osmometer, an essential piece of lab equipment. It measures the concentration of a solution in blood or urine. Our lab uses it to help measure electrolytes, evaluate kidney function, and determine the volume of alcohol or drugs in a patient’s system so we can best help them. The results from the osmometer can help local physicians make life-saving treatment decisions. This is the first of many pieces of equipment to be purchased from 50/50 proceeds.
Tickets for SAHF’s May 50/50 draw remain on sale online only. The prize is guaranteed at $9,999, but (as seen this month) can grow much higher. Tickets will be available for purchase until May 28th at 9PM, and the draw will take place on May 29th at 11am.
SAHF 50/50 tickets are available for purchase across Ontario at www.soo5050.ca. Visit the page regularly and follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/saultareahospitalfoundation) to stay up to date on how high the current prize is.
On behalf of the entire community, thank you for your continued support. To keep up to date with SAHF’s draws and fundraising activities, visit www.sahfoundation.com.
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