The Red Der Kinsmen Dream Home Lottery has extended their deadline to January 31, 2022 with house tours on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Ken Waters)

By Alessia Proietti

Lottery deadline extended to Jan. 31

A new home for the price of a lottery ticket?

Jan 6, 2022 | 12:00 PM

New year… new home? Don’t scoff at that idea just yet because you may be able to win one at the price of a lottery ticket.

The 2021 Red Deer Kinsmen Club Dream Home Lottery extended its deadline from Dec. 31, 2021 to Jan. 31, 2022.

“It’s an exciting time. Really it’s a lot of work to do the lottery, we’re all volunteers, but when you see somebody win that house, it’s always worthwhile and they’re always so thrilled,” said Red Deer Kinsmen Lottery Chair Ken Waters.

The Kinsmen are a volunteer-run club and have been giving back to the Red Deer community for 80 years by donating to local organizations, assisting in construction and renovation projects, and more.

Beginning in 1981, the Club’s Dream House Lotto raffles a newly built home made by locals. While 2020 would have marked their 40^th house lottery, pandemic uncertainties caused the postponement of the anniversary to 2021.

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This year’s house is a 2,368 square foot bungalow located on 26 Tillier Street, has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a den with a 10’ tray ceiling, faux beams and gas fireplace with waterfall hearth. The kitchen includes stainless-steel appliances, large Quartz Island and a barn door to a walk-in pantry. Let’s not forget the basement with a custom wet bar, wine room, family room and corner lounge area.

While this house sounds like a dream, holding a lottery during the pandemic hasn’t been as picture-perfect.

The normal process consists of open house tours where visitors, sometimes 100 per day according to Waters, can purchase their tickets from Kinsmen volunteers in the garage after envisioning themselves living in the untouched home.

But for 2021, house tours weren’t permitted. In replacement, they pieced together a virtual home tour.

“There’s nothing better than being able to see the house and then buy your tickets. It’s an exciting process. You get to see it, you can imagine being there or you can sell it, you can think about that, it really sparks your imagination with it,” he said.

In celebration of their 40^th anniversary and to encourage ticket sales, the Kinsmen added an array of new prizes that could be won with the purchase of a house ticket, including trips to Europe, cooking classes, helicopter rides, home gym equipment, and more.

Costs have also increased over the years, not only because of inflation in building materials, but also with outsourcing of the construction itself. While in the past, Kinsmen volunteers built the homes from scratch. Presently, local contractors are signed, with this year being True-Line Designer & Builder.

From October to December, the Club had sold about half of their 10,000 house tickets. The goal, however, is to sell at least 75 per cent in order to cover the increased costs of the home’s construction, additional prizes, and have some left over for future community initiatives.

“With a licensed lottery, you have to prove there’s a need to extend the lottery. That was that we would lose money on it,” said Waters.

It’s not the first time the lottery has been postponed.

“The extension itself is not a sign of failure or a lack of support from central Albertans; it’s just a sign of the times. Everything about this lottery has gone differently.”

Receiving approval from the Alberta Health Association, the Club will be hosting house tours on Saturdays until the Jan. 31 deadline. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., a reduced capacity of 13 visitors at a time allows the Club to forego proof of vaccination requirements. Paper QR slips will be handed out for easy access to online ticket purchasing.

Alongside the house lottery, the Kinsmen also have their 50/50 jackpot running until the extended deadline of Jan. 31. Currently at $254, 810, the goal is to raise $500,000.

House tickets start at $100 and 50/50 jackpot tickets for $10 each, with reduced prices for bulk and combination purchases.

According to Waters, house ticket sales alone usually bring in an extra $100,000 reallocated towards community initiatives.

“We’re in a spot where the home lottery is really the only way to get a chance at making enough money to make a really noticeable difference,” he said.

Some initiatives in the Red Deer area include donations in 2020 to Red Deer BMX for a new starting gate, a $95,000 donation to Youth HQ’s Big Brothers Big Sisters for renovating Camp Alexo in 2014, and helping to build an indoor play centre for the Blackfalds Abbey Centre in 2012.

And the Club hopes to be able to continue their work in 2022.

“We’ve had great support from Red Deer but now we need more support because we aren’t there yet,” said Waters.

“There’s a lot more chances to win this year so were hoping that translates to more tickets sold here in the next month. Our estimation is: that’s enough time.”