THUNDER BAY - A 1938 car that Norm Halvorsen originally bought for $10 and spent 29 years restoring is now sweetening the pot of a local charity draw.
“We’ve had the car for some time and I’m getting old, so it’s time to give it to somebody that really needs it,” Halvorsen says. “I’m really glad that we’re donating it.”
The first Bowtie Raffle in support of Our Kids Count was launched Wednesday at Badanai Motors. The prize package includes the antique 1938 Chevrolet Sedan, a Cargo Mate car hauler and a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado. All three items are worth more than $71,000.
Our Kids Count executive director Gladys Berringer says it’s the first raffle of this magnitude for the charity, having partnered with Badanai Motors to create the full package to go with the antique car.
On what the raffle money will go towards, Berringer says that “Our Kids Count in the last few years has really focused in on community kitchens, and looking to create programs which address food security issues. A lot of families in our community are struggling with being able to put healthy, nutritious food on their tables.”
Often, families with limited incomes sacrifice their food budget in order to cover basic expenses like paying the rent.
“We provide kitchen programs where they can come learn how to cook,” Berringer says. “Some people don’t even cook, so some are learning basic cooking skills and some are just learning how to stretch their dollars and how to take the food that they may receive and turn it into nutritious meals for their families.”
Ten-thousand tickets will be sold for $20 each at various locations around the city. The draw will be held Dec. 31 at noon at Badanai Motors.
“We just thought that would be a really cool thing for somebody to start off the new year with a brand new truck and an antique car,” Berringer says.
Those interested in purchasing tickets can phone the ticket location hotline at 623-0292.
As for the 1938 Sedan, Halvorsen says it’s almost completely original “except for the odd bolt.”
