Unique 'draw down' raffle at charity ball keeps you hanging
The Du Quoin Youth Club Charity Ball on March 9 is hosting the only raffle in Southern Illinois where you DO NOT want your name drawn out until the end.
It's called a "Draw Down Raffle" and according to raffle organizer Cori Maynor somebody is going home with all or part of the night's $3,000 Grand Prize.
It all depends on staying in the game.
The committee is selling these raffle tickets for $25 each and you can also buy first round "insurance" for $10 to keep you in the game through the first mass elimination.
All of the tickets are placed in a box, a pot or up on a board and a committee member will start drawing, let's say 100 tickets. If your ticket is drawn you don't win, YOU LOSE. Your ticket is immediately thrown away UNLESS you bought insurance. If you bought insurance your ticket stays in the drawing through at least the entire first round where the first uninsured 100 tickets will be eliminated. Throughout the night there will be subsequent drawings to eliminate tickets whether you bought insurance or not.
By the end of the evening, the box gets down to only three tickets. Your ticket has a place for you to mark "Split" or "Draw." If you marked "Split" that means that you split the $3,000 with either one or two of the last three. If you marked "Draw" that means (and it would be frightening) that you are hoping to be the last ticket drawn at the end of the night and would keep the entire $3,000,
Du Quoin Youth Club Charity Ball will be held on March 9, 2013 at the Exhibition Hall located inside the main gate of the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds.
The night includes complimentary beverages, appetizers, a dinner buffet and desserts, raffles for live auction items, a shotgun or a cruise, other live and silent auctions and dancing.
Last year, your tax deductible donations generated 50 percent of the Youth Club's annual budget--approximately $60,000.
The Du Quoin Youth Club continues to be the premier youth service program in Southern Illinois. The club is under the direction of Nicole Heape along with her staff of certified teachers. The children are getting after school homework help, physical activity, structure guidance and the life-skills they need in order to instill self-confidence and self-respect.
With your help, their dreams may become a reality and their contributions will be positive. The Youth Club is still working toward the financial goal of building a new Teen Gym in order to continue the same quality services for the older youth of the area.
Tickets for the night are $40 per person and can be purchased at the Youth Club, from Lora Booker at the Du Quoin State Bank or at the door. You can also contact committee members Nicole Heape, Dixie Travelstead, Cori Maynor, Brenda Green, Dane Mason, Natasha Ford, Julie Eisenhauer, Robin Laur Russell or Marsha Morganstern.