Special meaning behind deserving win
Just one ticket, purchased last minute and in support of National Seniors Australia, was all it took for a lucky winning couple who will be hitting the road in their brand-new campervan to visit family across Australia.
The retired Manly, New South Wales, couple also plan to explore Australia’s natural wonders with their $250,000 Play For Purpose win from the purchase of a single $10 ticket.
Ronan and Maura won the First Prize Pack from Raffle 19, drawn in June, which included a Volkswagen Crafter Kampervan and more than $100,000 in gold bullion.
What’s more, the online charity raffle allows the ticket purchaser to choose a charitable or grassroots sporting organisation to donate half their ticket price to, and the couple opted to support National Seniors.
Now, the delighted couple no longer have to rent a campervan to visit their dream destinations on a trip they had already been planning as well as future trips to visit their children living interstate.
Straight after the draw, an official from Play For Purpose phoned the couple, who wasted no time answering the winning call.
“Oh, my goodness. That’s fantastic!” was Ronan's initial response.
“Wow. I only bought the tickets last night—right before the draw closed!
“When your number first came up, I thought, ‘Oh it’s another spam call’, but I’m so glad I answered.”
Ronan went on to explain that his job over the next few days had been to plan a road trip to Western Australia.
“I actually tried to look for a campervan for our Western Australia trip. It turned out to be really expensive.
“It just was out of our price range. But now, we’ve got our very own!” he told the official.
Maura said because they are retired, the camper will get plenty of use.
Ronan said he’d bought his ticket to lend a helping hand to National Seniors Australia.
“I’ve supported National Seniors for quite a while now. I’ve always thought, ‘Why not? It’s the right thing to do!’.
“I’ve been purchasing tickets into the raffle since 2020. We’re retired and in that age bracket and we wanted to give back.
“National Seniors does a fantastic job helping older Australians tackle age-related issues.
“We appreciate what they do for us,” he said.
“This hasn’t sunk in yet. We can’t wait to get off the phone and call our children to let them know about this! We will definitely have a celebration today.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime call. Thank you so much for blessing our morning.”
After the phone call, Ronan reflected that winning $100,000 in gold bullion was “kind of an unbelievable concept”.
“It's a lovely idea to think you have, you know, a mineral from Australia in gold, and to have won that prize, it's a different dimension for us.
So that'll be a lovely legacy in the long term. “A nest egg that we'll keep and watch grow.”
National Seniors Australia Commercial Services Manager Jake Magill said he was excited for the winning couple and thanked all players who purchased a raffle ticket in support of them.
National Senior’s partnership with Play For Purpose has helped raise more than $130,000 to assist National Seniors in continuing its world-class research and advocacy to influence government policy and drive better outcomes for older Australians.
Each ticket gives players the chance to win one of 395 prizes while supporting an Australian charitable cause of their choice.
