THUNDER BAY – Edna Parsons thought she might be the victim of an early April Fools prank.
instead, after having officials at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation check and recheck her ticket number, she’s $664,885 richer on Friday.
Parsons is the winner of the second installation of the foundation’s Thunder Bay 50/50 draw, which has brought in more than $1.5 million over the past 10 weeks to help the regional hospital purchase new equipment and cover costs not paid for through provincial funding.
“Really?” Parsons asked, reached by phone on Friday by Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation CEO Glenn Craig.
“Oh, goodness.”
“It’s a pretty nice sum of money on a Friday afternoon,” Craig said.
“Wow, thank you,” Parsons responded. “But this is a good cause for you as well, right?”
That might be an understatement.
“It really is helping out the hospital a lot,” Craig replied. “We’ve had a tough year and I think we’re two winners today, for sure.”
Lindsay Doran-Bonk, a digital engagement officer at the foundation, said it was thrilling to watch the jackpot grow over the final few days, four weeks after another winner took home more than $960,000 in the first 50/50 draw.
“It’s absolutely staggering,” Doran-Bonk said.
“In just two draws we’ve given away more than one-and-a-half million dollars that people have won in the community. Also, that’s going to have a huge impact at the hospital. We’re getting ready to share where some of that money is going and the equipment it’s buying and the good stuff it’s going to be able to do for patients who come here. It’s so staggering, really, that I can’t even comprehend it.”
April’s draw is already under way at www.thunderbay5050.ca and will feature not one, but two early bird draws for $1,000, the first taking place on March 31.
There will also be an extra week of selling for the April draw, which takes place on April 30.
Tickets are five for $10, 30 for $20 and 150 for $50. Ticket buyers must be in Ontario at the time of purchase.
