Get a chance to win big while helping Seniors on the Sunshine Coast! We announced at the Fall General Membership meeting about plans for a Sunshine Coast Seniors Online 50/50. We can now confirm its launch on January 1st, 2025! Its purpose is raise funds for the SSAC to aid in reducing food insecurity and social isolation for Sunshine Coast seniors by providing affordable nutritious meals and accessible transportation.

In September 2023 we launched the Affordable Lunch Program at the SSAC. Chef Emily and her assistant Liz have worked hard to produce delicious meals at an affordable price. However, despite Emily’s frugal purchasing of food items, the price of the meals crept up to inflationary pressures. This program aims to keep prices of our lunch entrées at either $10 or $12 and frozen we kept the price of frozen takeout entrees at $6 and $8. The program has been an overwhelming success, with members in more fortunate circumstances donating funds. The demand on the frozen entrées has risen dramatically, illustrating the enormous need for producing affordable meals.

We have recently hired an extra sous chef on a part-time basis to keep pace with the demand for frozen entrées. We welcome Jackie Coombs into this role and the greater SSAC family. The extra cost of this position was the impetus to think about how to raise more funds to expand the production and supply of affordable meals to keep pace with the needs of our members. Thus, the Sunshine Coast Seniors Online 50/50 was conceived. Tickets are going on sale for the first monthly draw. Deadline for ticket sales is 11:59 pm on Wednesday, January 29th. The draw draw will be on Thursday January 30th at 9:00 am. Twelve monthly draws will be held in 2025, with ticket sales deadline at midnight of the last Wednesday of each month.

Social isolation is a burden for many seniors, especially those who are disabled or no longer drive their own vehicle. There is dire need for more accessible transportation on the Sunshine Coast. The Handydart service through BC Transit is insufficient, due to the many demands made upon it, and there are very few alternatives.

It was reported in the 2024 BC Seniors Advocate that in BC, there was a 45% increase in Handydart ride requests and an 11% reduction in rides fulfilled. We aim to help our members who require accessible transportation to attend Centre or other events. To this end, a proposal to purchase a wheelchair accessible van – a 2024 Ram 2500 ProMaster Smart Floor Wheelchair Accessible Van from Dynamic Speciality Bus Sales, Surrey, BC, was made at the Fall General Membership meeting. The vehicle can carry a driver and co-pilot plus 8 passengers, or by removal of seats, can accommodate from 1 to 4 wheelchairs with a rear door electric lift. A motion was passed at the meeting that the van purchase can proceed if we raise $20,000 from the Sunshine Coast Seniors Online 50/50 by March 2025. Funding for this proposed purchase is supported by a $5,000 grant from the Sunshine Coast Credit Union and a $4,500 grant from a national competition for TELUS Seniors Health and Wellness Fund. We heartily thank both organisations for their support. This money was used towards a $10,000 refundable deposit on an accessible van which will be available at the end of January 2025. The purchase will be completed at that time, provided the appropriate funding has been secured from the 50/50 lottery.

Tickets for the online 50/50 will be available to anyone in the province, so we want to promote it as widely as possible, especially to younger generations. The site will show the jackpot total as it accumulates. The bigger the jackpot, the more appealing it will be for purchasers around the province.

On January 1st we sent out an email reminding our members of the lottery opening, along with the link to the page where tickets can be purchased. We would appreciate it if you could help promote the lottery by passing on the email or link to anyone in your own social media network. If you would like to buy tickets but do not wish to buy online, we will have a volunteer at the Centre to assist in the purchase, using a dedicated handheld device. The success of this lottery will determine how many seniors will benefit from our our initiatives.

BUY ONLINE 50/50 TICKETS NOW!