Thirty-three Chances to Win

Tickets are currently being sold for the Third Annual Plant a Seed... READ Cash Raffle. Only 500 tickets will be sold, and there are 33 chances to win! The drawing will be held on June 24, but not at Triple Dog Brewing, as was originally planned.

The Plant a Seed . . . READ Program is an educational community impact project that not only advocates for literacy but supports children in North Central Montana with readiness skills prior to kindergarten. This proactive nonprofit encourages and educates communities and families about the importance of reading aloud to preschool children.

Fundraisers like this raffle provide resources for many of the nonprofit’s projects, such as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. All children from birth to age five in Blaine, Hill, and Phillips counties are eligible to obtain books from the Imagination Library through the support of Plant a Seed...READ. Children enrolled in the Imagination Library receive an age-appropriate book once a month until their fifth birthday. Although Imagination Library chooses and sends the books, it does not pay for them. Local groups, such as Plant a Seed...READ, raise the money to nurture literacy.

For additional information and to enroll a child in the Imagination Library, a person can visit the Program’s website: http://www.plantaseedreadmt.org/, which shares the benefits of reading aloud to children:

• Bonding

• Literacy Skills-Comprehension

• Fostering Concepts about Print

• Language Enhancement

• Growing a Love of Reading

• Brain Development

According to a member of the Plant a Seed . . . READ Board of Directors, Shaylan Verploegen, who serves as the group’s treasurer, “Although first priority for the funds will be the Imagination Library, the funds raised through this raffle will be unrestricted funds, so the board will decide where the money is needed the most.”

The entire Plant a Seed . . . READ Program is run by volunteers. Because there is no paid staff, all monies raised go back into the communities served. “This is our biggest fundraiser, and the monies raised enable us to get books into the hands of those on the waiting list for the Imagination Library,” Verploegen stated.

Verploegen went on to explain that a secondary purpose of the funds will be to cover overhead expenses, such as paying internet and advertising costs and other office-related incidentals like postage.

“We actually started selling tickets on March 9, and then we were hit with the COVID-19 situation, so we’ve only just begun to sell tickets again. We hope community members continue supporting the program by adopting a reader so more children can benefit from the Imagination Library,” Verploegen said.

Those interested in making a difference in a child’s future are encouraged to contact Verploegen at 945-3668 to order tickets. Checks can also be made out to and mailed to Plant a Seed Cash Raffle at PO Box 782; Havre, MT 59501. A person must be at least 18 years old to participate in this raffle fundraiser. In Chinook, tickets will also be available from Nancy Diemert at Chinook Pharmacy on 300 Indiana Street.

Although the drawing will be held on Wednesday, June 24, it will not take place during Pint Night at Triple Dog Brewing, as was originally scheduled.

“We were told that such an event will likely generate more than the 50 people gathering limit allowed by Phase II guidelines in the Governor’s Plan for Reopening the Big Sky, so we’ll draw the winning tickets from a member’s home that night and make the announcement later,” Verploegen said.

All 500 tickets will be drawn, and ticket holders will have 33 chances to win cash prizes from $50 to $1500.

The purchaser of the 500th ticket drawn that night will win the $1,500 grand prize, the 499th will receive $500, and the 498th will get paid $250.00.

One hundred dollars in prize money will be disbursed to those who have purchased the ticket’s drawn 1st, 50th, 100th, 150th, 200th, 250th, 300th, 350th, 400th, 450th, and fifty dollars will go to the owners of the tickets drawn 20th, 40th, 60th, 80th, 120th, 140th, 160th, 180th, 220th, 240th, 260th, 280th, 320th, 340th, 360th, 380th, 420th, 440th, 460th, and 480th.