The Guelph Humane Society’s rebranded 50/50 draw is officially underway.
The six-week draw began on April 1 and is in support of abandoned animals in Guelph and the surrounding area.
Jane Dawkins, communications and community engagement director for GHS, explains why the fundraiser underwent a rebranding.
“We wanted to do something special with our lottery that sort of had life and would appeal to our audiences, and we thought it was a really fun way to go with Lucky Paws lottery and it’s been really wonderful so far since we launched,” Dawkins said.
Since joining the humane society in 2022, Dawkins said this has been the organization’s fastest growing lottery.
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Currently the lottery jackpot is sitting at more than $15,000. The fundraiser guarantees a minimum grand prize of $5,000, in addition to five early bird draws worth $500 each.
The first early bird draw is on Friday and goes until May 10. In its fifth week, there’ll be a special $200 bonus prize from Dogtopia.
She said all proceeds will go back to the organization.
“There’s a lot of people struggling out there who can’t take care of their pet,” she said.
“And all of these funds go toward providing primary and emergency veterinary care to animals that need it when they come here. It supplies food, medication, of course the shelter itself.”
Since the draw launched, Dawkins said the support from the community and beyond has been positive.
“People come to us because they want to adopt a pet. There’s people who’ve moved away, there’s lots of different reasons outside of our community, but definitely a lot of Guelph supporters have been coming forward and purchasing tickets,” she said.
“About 60 per cent of Canadians own pets — that’s about 70,000 people in Guelph. Maybe we factor those who aren’t 18 out of it. If everybody came forward and bought even our minimum ticket we could have an incredible jackpot on our hands.”
The grand prize will be drawn on May 17.
Tickets are on sale on Guelph Humane’s website.
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