Last year, the Kamloops & District Crime Stoppers’ raffle car was won by Ashcroft resident Martin Block, who purchased a raffle ticket at Graffiti Days in Cache Creek in June 2019 and found out in August that he had won a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro.
READ MORE: Ashcroft man who’s ‘not a car person’ wins Crime Stoppers Camaro raffle car
Lightning will not strike twice this year: because of COVID-19, Kamloops Crime Stoppers has had to cancel their annual car raffle for the first time in 26 years. The prize car is usually displayed at car shows and events around the area throughout the summer, where tickets are also sold, and the COVID-19 pandemic meant those events were all cancelled.
In order to raise funds to support the organization and its operations, Crime Stoppers has launched its first ever 50/50 draw, which is happening online between now and Nov. 30. The winner gets half of the total prize pool, and the winning ticket will be drawn live on the Kamloops & District Crime Stoppers Facebook page on Dec. 8. Tickets are $3 each, 10 for $25, or 30 tickets for $50. To purchase tickets, go to www.kamloopscrimestoppers.ca.
All proceeds raised by the 50/50 draw will be used to assist Kamloops & District Crime Stoppers in their efforts to help solve crime in Kamloops and the surrounding communities. The organization is a non-profit, community-based crime solving program working in conjunction with the police, the media, and the public to help make communities in the region safer places in which to live.
Kamloops & District Crime Stoppers is a registered charitable organization that receives calls and tips online from individuals who want to report information about a crime and wish to remain totally anonymous. Crime Stoppers is one way that citizens can assist law enforcement by providing information, and callers do not have to identify themselves or testify in court.
The organization has been serving Kamloops and the entire TNRD since 1984, and through anonymous tips has assisted the RCMP in recovering more than $9.7 million in stolen property and removing more than $69.9 million in illicit drugs from the streets.
The program is managed by a dedicated volunteer board of directors, with one full-time program manager on salary to support with tip administration, program awareness, and education, as well as fundraising and community event support.
The annual operating costs for the organization average $85,000. The group receives limited municipal funding, so the annual raffle car fundraiser is crucial to its success, and they are hoping that this year’s 50/50 draw will help them raise much-needed funds to allow them to continue with their work.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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