OCNews

It's been only three months since the Okanagan College Foundation set an ambitious goal, called the Staff Lotto Stretch, to sign up 150 new participants to its 50/50 Staff Lottery by December of this year.

Now, they're thanking faculty and employees for stepping up in a major way with 50 new sign ups to date. 

"We have more people playing the Staff Lotto than ever before," says Dawn Douglas, Okanagan College Foundation Executive Assistant and Staff Lottery administrator.

"Our jackpot is now more than $700 every payday and an additional $700 is available for students experiencing an emergency. We know an emergency bursary can mean the difference between a student completing their education or not, and we're so thankful to see participation grow. "

Rhyscia Cerda marked the 50th OC staff member to sign up. The Aboriginal Services Assistant says she joined for a chance to win the bi-weekly jackpot while helping students in need.

"It wasn’t that long ago that I was a student myself and between the coursework and trying to keep myself afloat financially, the stress was pretty significant," says Cerda, who graduated from OC's Human Service Work program in 2014.

"There are a lot of students out there who don’t have family that they can ask for financial help if they find themselves in a tough situation so emergency bursaries are a definitely a lifeline in those times."
 

Kristen Diehl, Women in Trades Training Marketing and Recruitment Coordinator, recently won a $717.50 jackpot. 

"Is there ever a time when a little extra cash doesn't come in handy? I’ll be mostly tucking this prize away. My fiancé and I are house hunting and planning a wedding, so there’s plenty of empty piggy banks in need of padding."

The Okanagan College Foundation is hoping to see 100 more sign ups over the next six months to meet its goal of creating a $1,000 bi-weekly jackpot for staff and $1,000 in bi-weekly support for students facing unexpected financial hardship.

There is now an online form to sign up for the 50/50 Staff Lottery. To learn more and to join, click here: https://www.okanagan.bc.ca/oc-foundation/staff-lotto