For the last three years, Friends of the Whistler Public Library (FOWPL) volunteers have held an online 50/50 raffle to raise funds for the beloved community institution.
For the past two years, Michele Swanson has won the pot.
The North Vancouverite spends nearly every weekend in Whistler since she and her family purchased a cabin in the resort in 2020. This winter, she volunteered as a mountain host—that’s where a co-volunteer, Josie Chuback, introduced her to the FOWPL group, and the 50/50 raffle. The annual fundraiser raises money for specific initiatives at the library. “I bought tickets wanting to support my friend’s fundraising efforts,” Swanson explained in an email.
“I am not a regular lottery ticket buyer and hardly ever enter contests but I like to support worthy causes such as this and the Whistler Library has been a community hub during the pandemic, both for reading material and virtual resources.”
Last year, Swanson’s name was printed on the winning ticket, drawn from a pile of hundreds at the end of March. “Naturally, I was thrilled to win a little over $5000,” she wrote. She bought an e-bike with her winnings.
“This year I had the intention of supporting the Whistler library again and its fundraising efforts and bought 20 tickets, the odds being that I wouldn’t win. I was in disbelief when [FOWPL chair and secretary] Roberta [MacQuarrie] called and told me that I had won the 50/50 again,” Swanson explained, so much so that she assumed the late-March phone call was an April Fool’s prank. “I was still skeptical until I had the cheque in hand,” Swanson added.
“I didn’t even remember it was the same name as last year—we were just so excited to get a winner,” said MacQuarrie. “And then I went back in my records because someone said … 'are you sure you didn’t pick last year's winner?' I went back and then sure enough, it was the same person. She is so lucky, I can't believe it. What are the odds?”
This year, Swanson’s $3645 in winnings will help fund the biking vacation in Germany she’s planning.
In 2023, the other half of the funds collected through the FOWPL’s third-annual 50/50 helped purchase interactive white boards for small meeting rooms in the library. Last year, raffle funds helped support the library's Wonder Lab, which officially opened to the public on May 1.
“I hope that people come to check out the new addition to the library and I hope that more people will contribute to the 50/50 next year," said Swanson, especially "if the odds are that good that someone can win twice!"
Next up, the FOWPL will host its annual used book sale later this month. The event takes place in Library Plaza on Saturday, May 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with all proceeds going towards the library.
Looking to donate your already-read books to the sale? Drop them in donation bins available at Creekside Market, the Re-Use It Centre, and at the library. The FOWPL is only accepting adult fiction novels, memoirs, cookbooks, and children’s or young adult books this year.
