When we opened our annual raffle this year, we worried that due to the economic crisis associated with the pandemic, we would have trouble selling tickets. We thought that our supporters would not understand how essential the raffle is to helping people affected by addiction who are suffering more than ever during this crisis.
You inspired us. Many of you doubled, and some tripled your annual donation which has put us on track to (G-d willing) meet our goal.
One supporter, who usually purchases two tickets, quintupled his donation and bought ten raffle tickets. Chabad Lifeline chatted with him over the phone and here is a transcript of the conversation.
CHABAD LIFELINE: I'm still awed by your generosity. It's incredibly kind of you. Let me ask you, what made you buy 10 tickets this year?
SUPPORTER: Well, every year Rabbi Mendel (Fine) calls me and asks me to buy tickets. I usually buy two of them. This year we chatted as usual and he told me how you guys hired new staff to deal with the pandemic. But what really hit home was the realization that kids were stuck in homes with addicts during the pandemic.
CHABAD LIFELINE: You mean because of the schools shutting down?
SUPPORTER: Exactly. I'm a parent. When my kids' schools closed, it was all out panic in my home. My wife and I were worried about losing our jobs, or how this coronavirus would affect our lives, and it was extremely hard. Suddenly, the kids were home 24/7 and we had to take care of them. It was almost impossible for both of us to work while at the same time parent our kids, and it took a lot of time to adjust to the new reality.
CHABAD LIFELINE: Did that affect your job?
SUPPORTER: Absolutely. And my wife's job too. We both cut down on hours. We made an area in our home off-limits to our kids so we could have a sort of office space. It was very chaotic. So when Rabbi Mendel started talking about kids stuck in homes with addicts, I could only imagine how much worse off those homes were and how much more help they needed and I'm glad I was able to help.
CHABAD LIFELINE: You didn't just double your donation, or give what you gave last year. You bought five times the number of tickets you took last year. Why such a jump?
SUPPORTER: Look. Most people I know, most companies I know, were downgrading during this coronavirus. So when Rabbi Mendel told me how you guys had hired more addiction counsellors, I was blown away. Here we are, in a time of great financial burden for everyone, and you guys, who rely on our donations, instead of choosing what a business-thinking company would do and cut down on money and time, instead you hire more people and just start calling all clients. That's mind blowing. That's putting the heart out. That's the epitome of what I want to support. I'm glad I was able to afford 10 tickets. I bought as many as I could because I figured if you guys are crazy enough to expand during this coronavirus, then I too should expand as much as I'm capable. Sorry for rambling on and on.
CHABAD LIFELINE: Are you kidding? I can listen to you praise us for hours.
SUPPORTER: *chuckles*
CHABAD LIFELINE: So if you have one message you could give to anyone reading about our conversation, what would you tell them?
SUPPORTER: I would tell them to do like you guys have done. Just as Chabad Lifeline stuck out its neck to help others, you too need to buy as many tickets as possible, because while everyone was downsizing, they were expanding and rushing out to save more lives, regardless of the financial burden.
CHABAD LIFELINE: Thank you so much!
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NOTE: We want to express our gratitude to everyone who purchased tickets this year. If you have yet to buy tickets, please visit LifelineRaffle.com and get as many as you can. If you have any questions, please call 514-738-7700 or send us an email.
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