THE DALLES — A new collaborative fundraiser is being launched in the coming weeks that will raise more than $100,000 for local school sports teams and extracurricular clubs in The Dalles and Hood River.
North Wasco County Education Foundation and the Hood River County Education Foundation will sell raffle tickets for a new car. The raffle winner will win a 2023 Toyota Corolla donated by local dealership Columbia Gorge Toyota. The two non-profits will be administering the raffle and helping with marketing.
Tickets will be sold by various athletic teams and extracurricular clubs to raise money for the myriad of out-of-pocket expenses those youth have in order to participate. And the best part? Raffle tickets are $10 each and 100% of the funds go to the schools.
Teams, clubs, and parent’s groups affiliated with the schools can sell $10 raffle tickets to community members for a chance at winning a brand new 2023 Toyota Corolla, which will be drawn on the evening of the first home football game between The Dalles High School and Hood River Valley High School at Sid White Field, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 15. There will be an even amount of tickets distributed between North Wasco County Education Foundation and the Hood River County Education Foundation (7,500 in each school district for a total of 15,000 tickets sold). This will give both school districts an opportunity to raise up to $75,000 for their respective teams and extracurricular clubs, an enormous benefit to those programs, said a press release.
The vehicle is being donated by Columbia Gorge Toyota at no cost to the foundations or the districts mentioned and allows for 100% of the tickets sales go to support the schools, with 10% going to the Education Foundation to help cover any marketing or administrative costs. The winner of the vehicle will only need to pay licensing, registration, and any taxes required by the state of Oregon. The current MSRP of the new 2023 Toyota Corolla is $23,023.
Raffle tickets sales will launch on Friday, Dec. 9 at the first boy’s basketball game between The Dalles High School and Hood River Valley High School. Tickets can be purchased all the way up to the rivalry football game in September 2023, unless they are already sold out. The foundations are hoping to demonstrate to the team at Columbia Gorge Toyota that their car donation was worth it by selling all of the 15,000 tickets printed. That would mean an extra $150,000 for our youth to participate in sports, theater, band, robotics, and other school activities. Parents groups, such as the elementary school PTAs, will also be allowed to sell tickets and raise funds for their schools.
The owners of Columbia Gorge Toyota, Aaron and Rachel Carter, wanted to make a donation that would positively affect as many people as possible. They said, “Certain clubs and sports tend to raise money easier than others, so we wanted to give all an opportunity to work hard to earn as much as possible. We are hoping that our initial donation can be leveraged to support all kinds of extracurricular activities for the youth of our community.”
Be on the lookout for new car raffle ticket sales at sports games, events, festivals, and more in the two counties. You will also see the car driving around town covered in a beautiful collage of photos from both school districts. The foundations are also setting up a way to buy raffle tickets online through their websites, which should be launched before the end of December.
For other questions about the raffle, contact Rebecca Thistlethwaite, administrative director of the North Wasco County Education Foundation at rebeccathistlethwaite@gmail.com or Mike Schend, board member of the Hood River County Education Foundation at mikeschend@yahoo.com.
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