It’s Diane Mitchell’s $94,000 nightmare.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever had to tell a family they’re not going to get a home,” she said, tears starting to flow.
“It’s hard to do.”
Mitchell, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay, is in the unenviable position having to tell Rutland Williams and his family they may have to wait a year or more before the organization has the means to build their home.
The reason is simple, Mitchell said. Lower than expected ticket sales for the third annual Habitat for Humanity $100,000 raffle have threatened to cripple the organization’s plans to build Rutland Williams and his family a home in 2011, and possibly threaten future builds as well.
Mitchell on Friday made a last-ditch plea to the public, noting just 2,000 of the 12,500 available $20 tickets have been sold to date.
That’s a far cry from the $120,000 they made in 2009 and the $54,000 they profited last year, and not only puts this year’s project in jeopardy, but next year’s as well.
Mitchell said the declining interest in the lottery, which also includes five $1,000 early-bird draws, means they will look at other options going forward.
“We understand that lots of people buy tickets at the last minute, but it’s not working. When a fundraiser’s not working, we have to come up with something new to be able to build these houses,” Mitchell said.
Williams, who topped Habitat’s 2011 list, simply wants to provide stability for his family, his daughter in particular.
He hasn’t given up hop yet.
“We don’t know what may happen yet,” Williams said Friday, still expressing hope the community will come through and support the lottery. “We hope things work out all right.”
His outlook is much bleaker than it was months ago, when Habitat officials informed him he’d made the cut and qualified for this year’s build.
It was a dream come true and harkened a brighter future for his family.
“This home represented a better life, more opportunity for my family. I don’t know how I will break the news to my daughter,” said Williams, who has already spent hours volunteering on other Habitat projects, a condition of the agreement.
“It would be a really good idea for us to have our own place, so that we could live together and be a family.”
Habitat, which provides interest-free mortgages to selected families, needs $75,000 for each house it builds. Money for the lottery has already been set aside, but will eat into the charity’s reserves.
“We have to have that money before we start the build because that’s what we use to buy the land and to pay for the materials for the build,” she said, adding due to provincial regulations, the draw date cannot be extended.
“These are people who work hard. They all have jobs. They live in Thunder Bay. They’ve been here for a minimum of three years. They live in conditions that are not acceptable and we would not want to live in,” Mitchell said.
“So we’re going to build a home for those families. They need this and we need the community to help us one more time. Let’s make this work and let’s get a family into a house this year.”
Tickets are available at a number of locations throughout the city, include the Habitat for Humanity ReStore outlet on Squire Street, both Quality Market locations and Colour Your World.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever had to tell a family they’re not going to get a home,” she said, tears starting to flow.
“It’s hard to do.”
Mitchell, the CEO of Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay, is in the unenviable position having to tell Rutland Williams and his family they may have to wait a year or more before the organization has the means to build their home.
The reason is simple, Mitchell said. Lower than expected ticket sales for the third annual Habitat for Humanity $100,000 raffle have threatened to cripple the organization’s plans to build Rutland Williams and his family a home in 2011, and possibly threaten future builds as well.
Mitchell on Friday made a last-ditch plea to the public, noting just 2,000 of the 12,500 available $20 tickets have been sold to date.
That’s a far cry from the $120,000 they made in 2009 and the $54,000 they profited last year, and not only puts this year’s project in jeopardy, but next year’s as well.
Mitchell said the declining interest in the lottery, which also includes five $1,000 early-bird draws, means they will look at other options going forward.
“We understand that lots of people buy tickets at the last minute, but it’s not working. When a fundraiser’s not working, we have to come up with something new to be able to build these houses,” Mitchell said.
Williams, who topped Habitat’s 2011 list, simply wants to provide stability for his family, his daughter in particular.
He hasn’t given up hop yet.
“We don’t know what may happen yet,” Williams said Friday, still expressing hope the community will come through and support the lottery. “We hope things work out all right.”
His outlook is much bleaker than it was months ago, when Habitat officials informed him he’d made the cut and qualified for this year’s build.
It was a dream come true and harkened a brighter future for his family.
“This home represented a better life, more opportunity for my family. I don’t know how I will break the news to my daughter,” said Williams, who has already spent hours volunteering on other Habitat projects, a condition of the agreement.
“It would be a really good idea for us to have our own place, so that we could live together and be a family.”
Habitat, which provides interest-free mortgages to selected families, needs $75,000 for each house it builds. Money for the lottery has already been set aside, but will eat into the charity’s reserves.
“We have to have that money before we start the build because that’s what we use to buy the land and to pay for the materials for the build,” she said, adding due to provincial regulations, the draw date cannot be extended.
“These are people who work hard. They all have jobs. They live in Thunder Bay. They’ve been here for a minimum of three years. They live in conditions that are not acceptable and we would not want to live in,” Mitchell said.
“So we’re going to build a home for those families. They need this and we need the community to help us one more time. Let’s make this work and let’s get a family into a house this year.”
Tickets are available at a number of locations throughout the city, include the Habitat for Humanity ReStore outlet on Squire Street, both Quality Market locations and Colour Your World.
