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BRUNSWICK — A community raffle in Brunswick raised $30,000 for the new All Saints Parish multi-purpose facility, earned free tuition for a student, and provided one lucky drawing winner with a $5,000 trip voucher donated by Dube Travel.
Sisters Maddie and Gwen Smith, students at St. John’s in Brunswick, sold nearly 600 tickets, the top student sellers in the contest.
Each raffle ticket was sold for $10, and the contest, conducted by All Saints Parish, attracted community members and parishioners at each of the parish’s seven churches (St. Charles Borromeo Church, Brunswick; St. John the Baptist Church, Brunswick; St. Mary Church, Bath; Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Boothbay Harbor; St. Ambrose Church, Richmond; St. Patrick Church, Newcastle; St. Katharine Drexel Church, Harpswell).
Exactly 3,000 raffle tickets were sold over the course of a month for a grand total of $30,000 in proceeds, which will support the new multi-purpose facility currently being constructed on the campus of St. John the Baptist Church and St. John’s Catholic School on Pleasant Street.
The center will be approximately 15,000 square feet and will include a large open space that will serve as an auditorium, gymnasium and cafeteria. The facility will also include a kitchen, a stage, a music room, a meeting room, an adoration chapel and other amenities.
Kathleen Gleeson of Connecticut was the grand prize winner as her name was selected during a drawing on Valentine’s Day.
“The parish decided that the student who sold the most tickets would receive free tuition and registration fees for the 2018-19 school year,” said Charleen Foley, business coordinator for All Saints. “Maddie Smith was the winner. She and her sister Gwen combined to sell over 600 tickets. Each student who participated received a certificate of appreciation from Fr. Thomas Murphy, our pastor, and Tim Forti, the principal at St. John’s.”
Students and their parents raised nearly $22,000 of the raffle profits through their ticket selling efforts, joining other parishioners and community members in the large pool of contributors that have supported the “Founded on Faith, Building the Future” capital campaign since it began in June of 2016 to raise money for the project.
“The support has been tremendous, but it isn’t surprising. We have a wonderful community and the need for a facility like this extends beyond our church and school,” said Jim Baskerville, general chairman of the steering committee overseeing the campaign. “A large number of donations have come in from the wider community. Other organizations are looking forward to having the opportunity to utilize the facility.”
Work is on track for the new facility to be open in early 2019.
TOP PHOTO: The Rev. Thomas Murphy, with winner Maddie Smith and her sister Gwen. The girls combined to sell more than 600 raffle tickets. (Submitted photo)
