AMHERST – Spending a Toonie could go a long way to ensuring the financial viability of the Amherst CIBC Wood Gundy Ramblers.
The Ramblers have kicked off a new Toonie Draw fundraiser it hopes will raise at least $1,000 a week to support the hockey team.
“This fundraiser has been very successful for the Boys and Girls Club in Summerside and more recently in Truro, and we’re very confident it will be successful here in Amherst as well,” Ramblers’ president Jim Henwood said Thursday.
To participate in the fundraiser, people can register as many times as they wish. When they register, they will receive a number. To enter the draw each week, participants will place a sticker with their registration number on a Toonie and drop it into a box at one of 13 locations around Amherst and the county.
Each week, beginning Feb. 13, a number will be drawn at random. If the associated number has been attached to a Toonie a winner will be declared. If not, the jackpot will continue to grow weekly.
“Even if we got a $1,000 a week that would be $52,000 a year for the hockey club,” Henwood said.
The team president participants can also register online by sending an email to ramblersweeklytooniedraw@gmail.com. The winning number will be announced each week in the media.
He’s hoping boxes and registration stations will be located at additional locations around Cumberland County in the coming weeks.
Henwood said the Toonie Draw is just one of several fundraisers the team is holding. It is selling tickets on a $2,000 ring from JG Jewellers and holds a weekly 50-50 draw at its home games.
“It’s very important that we continue fundraising. Operating a junior A team is costly and our budget continues to increase,” Henwood said. “Our busing costs along went up $13,000 this year and our overall budget is up about $20,000. We are trying to keep a winning product on the ice and we don’t have the financial backing some other teams in the league have.”
Toonie Draw boxes and registration forms are available at Ken’s Rite Stop on Church Street, Ken’s Grocery in Parrsboro, Mike’s Drive-Thru and Convenience on South Albion Street, A&W, Dooly’s, Roy Duguay Sales and Service, Changes Hair Studio, Downtown Wash & Lube, Eddy Group, Connor’s Family Restaurant and Lounge and Rambler home games at the Amherst Stadium.
dcole@amherstdaily.com
