Project Graduation lottery, plans move forward toward spring

By Michael Davis
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Frank Hall, the Northfield Project Graduation co-chairman, became involved with the lottery fundraiser in 1995.

"One of the parents came up with the idea in 1995, when my daughter graduated," Hall said. "We made a lot of money that year for the [Northfield High School seniors]."

Hall said that the lottery fundraiser is the biggest money raiser they have for Project Graduation.

The 10-week lottery, which started on Dec. 21, had a low participation with the kids selling the tickets compared to previous years, according to Project Graduation's co-chairman.

Sally Davidson, who lives in Northfield and is a Project Graduation co-chairman, said "Project Graduation is a substance-free celebration on graduation night for all the graduating seniors."

"It's an organization that gives kids an alternative to drinking on the night of graduation," said Mary Corrigan, a teacher at the Northfield Middle School who lives in Northfield.

Janice Boyce of Northfield, a supervisor of the Policy Service Group at the Vermont Mutual Insurance Company in Montpelier, said that these fundraisers do a lot for the kids at graduation time. "It gives the kids something to do, graduation night especially."

Beth Neal of Northfield, who works at the Morning Glory flower shop in Northfield, said she thinks it's good for the community to participate in these fundraisers because it gives the seniors something to look forward to at the end of the school year.

Some fundraisers that Project Graduation puts on each year include the bed race and the haunted hayride held at Norwich University.

But what makes the lottery such a good fundraiser is it's the easiest one to do, because "the more tickets they can sell the more money they can make," Hall said.

What we do every year is, we divide the tickets out between the kids," said Hall. And some of Northfield's local businesses "opt to sell tickets for us too."

"We do three drawings every week at local businesses for ten weeks," said Davidson. The tickets are sold for $10 each, and the prizes are for $25, $50, and $100 every week.

An appealing aspect which helps sell the tickets is that for each ticket you buy, you have 30 chances to win, Hall said. After each week when the winning tickets are drawn, they go back into the barrel, giving the people more chances to win each week until the drawings end in February.

According to an e-mail from Gail Hall of Northfield, who is a teacher at the Northfield High School, one family has already won the lottery twice so far.

Project graduation has all of their drawings at local businesses every Friday until the drawings end on February.

"We pick out 10 businesses to do the drawings at each year," and the drawings are on Fridays between three and four in the afternoon, where somebody videotapes it, said Hall. The videotape is then brought to Channel 7 and is put on the air half an hour to 45 minuets later.

According to Hall, what this does is give some of the local businesses of Northfield some publicity.

Randall Warenfford of Northfield, the owner of Bubba's Market, had, according to Gail Hall's e-mail, a drawing there on Dec. 28. Warenfford said that the lottery Project Graduation puts on each year is a great thing "because so many people out there like to gamble, anyway," which helps out the school tremendously.

"I have been buying the tickets as long as they've had them," said Corrigan, who won the lottery once and then donated the money back to Project Graduation. "I feel that it is going to a good cause."

According to Boyce, who agrees that the lottery is a good fundraiser, said, "People always like to buy a ticket to win money, and it's for a good cause."

Neal, who, according to Gail Hall's e-mail, had a drawing at the Morning Glory on Jan. 4, said that it seems to be a fair lottery, and that it gives Project Graduation a good chunk of money, which goes to a good cause.

Hall said he feels the lottery is one of the most important fundraisers, because it is the easiest one, "if they actually get out there to sell the tickets."

"We've purchased 1,000 tickets" this year, said Davidson. Only around 300 tickets were sold, in part due to people not going out there and selling them.

According to Hall, "We draw until February; we have to pay out $1,750 in prizes, and after that it's profit."

Davidson said that they have made about $1,700 in profit so far from the lottery.

"Every year it's different; it depends on the kids and the parents and if the class is really into it," said Hall. "My daughter's class, they made $5,000 on this one fundraiser, so that gives you an idea of the money that can be made from it."

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