As 2023 comes to a close, the Thunder Bay 50/50 will wrap up another year of offering life-altering prizes for winners, while providing millions of dollars to improve patient care at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
Having launched in February 2021, the initiative took a big step forward this year, offering some of the biggest monthly prize draws in its history and awarding more than $11.1 million to winners through the first 11 months of 2023.
Those prizes have given winners the ability to buy a new home, purchase new vehicles, pay off debt, cover postsecondary education costs for children, and experience once-in-a-lifetime travel opportunities.
“It’s such a positive thing for the community and the hospital,” says Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation CEO Glenn Craig.
This December promises to continue that trend, with the Foundation setting an unprecedented $2-million guarantee. Its largest jackpot to date came one year ago, with the December 2022 winner taking home more than $2.5 million.
The December jackpot continues to rise daily, with tickets available both online as well at the Foundation’s pop-up location inside Intercity Shopping Centre.
While the prizes have had a tremendous impact on the winners — with 34 separate recipients of the monthly jackpot — the Thunder Bay 50/50 has had a transformative result on the hospital and patient care.
The millions of dollars raised that have gone back into patient care, with one big completed project being the new and upgraded cardiac catheterization lab that will become operational in early January.
As well, the proceeds from the draw are making the first phase of the emergency department’s redevelopment a reality, allowing for the renovations of the patient waiting, registration and triage area.
“It’s miraculous,” Craig says of the initiative’s impact. “Hopefully this continues on into 2024, and hopefully we can make a lot of new winners very happy while improving patient care.”
