The 2023 Car Raffle was the first time Hudson Daybreak Rotary partnered with local youth on a major fundraiser for Hudson, Wisconsin. Read what Kaitlyn Doolittle, from the Star Observer had to say about the event.
The Hudson Daybreak Rotary club are in high spirits following their 2023 car raffle fundraiser, where they earned a total revenue of $54,351 in ticket sales.
The fundraiser, which started in 2005, centers on creating a better Hudson community. The majority of the proceeds go towards youth athletic facilities and organizations like the Booster Club, Hudson High School student organizations, enhancing education and more.
Student leaders of these groups stood side by side with community leaders in helping them sell their tickets.
The raffle’s big prize, the cherry red mustang or a lump sum of $20,000, was awarded to Heidi Hubbard on Oct. 6 during halftime at the Hudson High School’s last home game of the season. Rather than taking the big prize, Hubbard donated the $20,000 to the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, an addiction treatment and advocacy organization. The money will be used for a future Hazelden-BF Western Wisconsin campus.
When the Rotarians kicked things off at this year's Booster Days on June 30, they were ready to hit the ground running by standing outside of the County Market storefront, football games and other high school events.
With their diligent efforts and tireless enthusiasm, the early bird Rotarians have the numbers to prove it.
The average person purchased approximately three tickets. The club had transactions with approximately 2800 individuals, sold 8,440 tickets and had 85% total club participation.
Following expenses and including Hubbard’s generous donation, the club had $51,551.42 which will go back directly to the community.
Since the raffle’s conception, the club has donated $458,547.42 back to the greater Hudson community.
The work the Rotary is doing today wouldn’t be possible without past leadership guiding them through. Members are thankful for the efforts of Dick Whitcomb, who died early September. His civic engagements paved the way for members to succeed, Chris Wood, the fundraising and events club director for the Hudson Daybreak Rotary, said.
“Majority of the enthusiasm comes from the community,” Butch Schultz, a fellow Rotarian, said. "When people saw the Rotary members outside selling tickets, they knew already to buy and to support," Schultz said.