Watertown Noon Rotary Club draws winner for $1,000 cash calendar raffle

WATERTOWN, NY – The Watertown Noon Rotary Club has drawn the first two winners of 17 raffles to be held as part of the organization’s new Rotary Cash Calendar fundraiser.

Lydia Young, West Carthage, was the winner of a $1,000 prize for the club’s kick-off raffle Dec. 11 at the Italian American Civic Association in Watertown. Mrs. Young’s name was drawn among those entered into the raffle.

Mark Smith of the Rotary Cash Calendar Committee was excited to see the drawing take place, seeing the hard work of the committee begin to come to fruition.

“The drawing was exciting as it was the culmination of the efforts of so many Rotarians,” Mr. Smith said of the first drawing in December.

The catalyst for the fundraiser was the need to replace revenue lost when the club decided not to continue its annual Great Outdoor Expo, due to waning attendance. Christine Cisco, who was the club’s president at the time, learned of a fundraiser that was successfully being run by the Arnprior Rotary club in Ontario.

“They had been running a cash calendar campaign for several years. They are a smaller club than ours, but have had great success with the fundraiser,” said Mr. Smith. “We produced 2,000 calendars but realistically hoped to sell 1,500 calendars.
That would equate to $15,000.”

The revenue generated would be put to good use, funding all the worthwhile
projects that Rotary supports.

Though already in the new year, the club’s second drawing, won by Diane Sykes of Black River, has kept momentum going for the fundraiser. Even though many may have already purchased a non-Rotary 2020 calendar, purchasing a Rotary calendar still has its benefits, he noted.

The Rotary Cash Calendar Committee will continue to host monthly drawings for $200 each throughout 2020, as well as five bonus drawings, providing even more chances for members of the general public to win. All who purchase calendars and complete and return the enclosed entry card are entered into the drawings.

“Calendars are still available,” said Mr. Smith. “With 15 drawings, worth $4,000 still to go, there is certainly good reason to purchase a calendar.”

In addition to the benefit of the raffles, the full-color calendar – printed by DOCO Quick Print, Watertown – features information about events hosted by many local non-profit organizations.

“Let us not forget that the underlying purpose of the calendar was to advertise and promote the activities and fund raisers for our local not-for-profits,” said Mr. Smith.

The calendar also shares photos of Rotary events like the Concert in the Park Swimarathon and Rotary Rose Day as well as projects like the construction of a pavilion at Thompson Park and hosting of an Adopt-A-Platoon program.

Advertising found throughout the calendar assisted with its production and will help the fundraiser’s bottom line, said Mr. Smith.

Diana Woodhouse, president of the Noon Rotary Club, said the Rotary Cash Calendar is “an important new fundraiser” that not only raises key funding for the organization but also “provides valuable information about community events.”

“This calendar is a win for us all: the winners of the monthly and special drawings, the agencies who advertised their events and the community through our improvement projects,” said Ms. Woodhouse. “These are the best presents for friends and family.”

The cost of each Rotary Cash Calendar is $10.00. For more information or to purchase a Rotary Cash Calendar, contact Mr. Smith at 315-221-2886 or via email at marsmithinc@westelcom.com.