OCNews

When Bobbi Ell won the $965 jackpot for the Okanagan College Foundation’s 50/50 Staff Lottery earlier this month, she had won the biggest prize in the lotto's 16-year history.

Now, thanks to a number of new sign ups supporting the initiative, the next payday jackpot will see the winner net $1,100 while also supporting a $1,100 donation towards student emergency bursaries.

"Thank you to everyone who signed up for the Staff Lotto this year helping us double the prize money and help more students during a challenging time," says Dawn Douglas, Okanagan College Foundation Executive Assistant and Staff Lottery Coordinator.

Last year on Giving Tuesday, the Okanagan College Foundation set the goal to have 150 new signs up for its Staff Lotto before the next Giving Tuesday on Nov. 19. A month before the deadline, OC employees have exceeded the target.

"We knew it was an ambitious goal but it has been incredible to see the support for this initiative grow. Our gratitude to everyone who plays the staff lotto, including employees who have been supporting this initiative since the days of Okanagan University College," adds Douglas.

For Ell, who joined the College recently and is now interim Facilities and Business Services Coordinator, signing up was an easy decision.

"I saw the money went to help students in financial need and I was a student for the last two years," recalls Ell, who graduated from OC with a Business Administration Diploma.

"I received support from my First Nations band to help pay for my education but I met a lot of students who were struggling to make ends meet,” says Ell, who is a member of the Westbank First Nation. “Whatever I can do to help is worth it. I don’t even notice it, it just comes off my pay cheque."

OC faculty and employees can still help grow the initiative and sign up for the 50/50 Staff Lottery by completing an online application here. Entries are five dollars each for the biweekly 50/50 draw.