With Stars and Thunder just months away, the pieces are starting to fall into place for this year’s new and improved set up for the 50/50 draw.
Recently, council approved allowing the United Way North East Ontario to take care of the 50/50 draw at this year’s music festival.
Timmins Mayor Steve Black and United Way North East Ontario executive director Michael Cullen officially signed the memorandum of understanding for the deal today. More information is now also available for agencies wanting a piece of the prize money, and volunteers.
At last year’s festival, the 50/50 pot was incredibly popular, with the Canada Day draw selling out by about 4 p.m. The sole beneficiary of the draw was Science Timmins, which took home about $210,000.
Having the United Way run the draws this year means more community groups will be able access the money and the daily draws won’t have a cap.
Volunteers will be selling the tickets with handheld devices, which will allow people to pay with a credit card.
Cullen said the technology also allows live screen shots to let the crowd know where the pot’s at.
“It’s about bringing, you know, NFL, CFL, NASCAR technology to your event. That’s really what this is about, taking everything to the next level,” he said.
While the application process for community groups isn’t finalized yet, local non-profits and charities will be able to apply. For non-profits that don’t have charitable status, if they qualify they can partner with a local charity, which would administer the funds.
United Way regional navigator Jennifer Gorman said there will be information sessions for interested groups at the end of March or early April. Applications will be available during those sessions.
“Right now if they’re interested, they can still connect with me. I’m keeping a list of agencies and non-profits that are interested and I’ll make sure I connect back with them as soon as we have everything available and those dates available for those information sessions as well,” she said.
Interested community groups will need to have at least 10 volunteers for the festival.
The shifts can be four to six hours long, and happen anywhere between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., depending on the position.
“The more people they can have, the more funds they’ll actually receive,” said Gorman.
For people interested in volunteering at the festival, the process is going online this year.
“We had a wonderful number of volunteers participate last year and the feedback was great. What we’re doing now is facilitating the registration process to make it easier for everybody that wants to participate,” said Marnie Lapierre, Tourism Timmins co-ordinator of festivals, events and special projects. “Volunteers have their own reasons to volunteer. Whether it’s to be part of the festival, to give back to the community or they have some extra time on their hands. Now they have an extra reason to volunteer, they can assist their charity of choice.”
All volunteers interested in helping out at the festival can apply here.
Registered charities and non-profits interested in applying for funding can contact Gorman at 705-269-3330 or email [email protected].
