The respected group of women at Portsmouth Area Ladies (PALS) recently held their Spring Fling Cha-Ching Reverse Raffle, rasing at least $5,000 to go towards major area projects and causes.
According to the PALS website, the group’s mission statement follows as, “Portsmouth Area Ladies, Inc. (PALS) will engage in fundraising events and activities using volunteers to support charitable needs and organizations that will improve the quality of life and the changing needs of the residents in Portsmouth and the surrounding area. PALS will cooperate with other not-for-profit organizations when appropriate and address the needs of community children which are not being met by other organizations. The Portsmouth Area Ladies Inc. (PALS) is a 501C3 organization”
One of those members includes President Tami Davis, who has involved in the group for some time and was excited about her first event as president.
“We sell only 200 tickets at $50 each, so it makes the odds of winning very easy. We give away $50 for every 10th ticket drawn,” Davis explained.
The group also had prizes like gift cards, wine and purses available.
Prizes were awarded on spots 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 197, 198, 199 and the grand prize was drawn on spot 200.
Winners of gift cards included Kenneth Stoll, Patty Tennant, Sue Burke, Mary Haven, Kathy Sue’s Bakery, Tomi Burns, Diana Wellman, Byron Ford, Jeff Smith, Debbie Smith, Kayla Webb, Marlo Ridout, Sam Rickard, Abby Nichols, and Connie Snook.
Winners of various donated items included, Dr. John Walker, Debra McGinnis, and Ruth Noel
Cash prize winners included an anonymous member who donated his prize back, Cheryl Kantz, Dottie Bailey, and $5,000 prize winner Julie Garret.
“The event is a great way to raise money, doesn’t take a lot of effort on PALS members, and it’s fun since people watch live on Facebook and can interact through messaging,” Davis said. “It is always a nice way to raise funding for important causes while having a bit of fun.”
Davis said the livestream event was smooth, thanks to a lot of support.
“The live event went very well! We were fortunate to have the space at the Welcome Center and members there to help with each aspect of it,” Davis explained. “Tess Midkiff made sure the tickets were all accounted for, Toni Dengel made the ‘board’ for us to pin the winners – and losers – names to while Lynsi Eason took charge of filming! Shawn Jordan was responsible for pinning the names and I was doing the drawing. We were done in about 45 minutes so that was nice, not only for us but for those watching.”
The president explained that all of the prizes are donated by PALS members, since they wanted to hold off on sponsors for their upcoming Purse Bingo, which will take place in the fall and attract many people.
“The community responds to the reverse raffle very well. We never have difficulty selling out, so we encourage people to get their spot or spots early to make sure you get a chance to play,” Davis said about the raffle. “It is a great way to fulfill our mission while engaging the community in a fun night of drawing 200 tickets.”
This year, tickets were sold until the week of the event, when Davis says they sold out two days before.
The funding raised will go towards many public causes that PALS supports. Through quarterly grant cycles, they award microgrants, and sometimes larger grants depending on the cause, to area nonprofits to improve the quality of life for Scioto County citizens.
“Our work is important, as it gives funding opportunities to other instrumental non-profits that serve our community,” Davis said. “It takes a village, and we all work well together to make our home a better place for the future and PALS is an important piece of that equation.”
The funding will be available for grant applications moving forward. Their next deadline is May 20. The application can be found on their website, www.portsmouthpals.org.
PALS is an extended network of driven locals. Some of them include Tami Davis, Teri Webb, Shawn Jordan, Linda Woods-Jones, Debbie Smith, Patty Tennant, Carol Davis, Therese Egbert, Tess Midkiff, Kay Nouyack, Phyllis Fried, Rhoni Maxwell-Rader, Lynsi Eason, Jill Arnzen, Linda Woods-Jones, Ruth Ann Logan, Betty Kennedy, Julia Wisniewski, Toni Dengel, and more.
Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved
