Buy a ticket and you could make dreams come true for Coast Special Olympic athletes.
When Shara Cody saw that the B.C. Lottery Corporation was offering $10,000 for the B.C. amateur sports team that receives the most votes online, she started campaigning for the local Special Olympics team to win the prize.
"I phoned local co-ordinator Dianne Garrett to tell her about it and she was really excited about the opportunity," Cody said.Cody is the owner/operator of the Lotto Centre in Sunnycrest Mall. She says a new line of Sports Funder tickets could mean a big boost of funding for the local Special Olympics program.
The new Share the Dream tickets available at lotto retailers throughout the Coast hold a scratch section in the bottom left corner that reveals a code. Whether the ticket holder wins or not they are able to go online to www.sportsfunder.com to enter that code and vote for the amateur sports team of their choice.
The sports team with the most votes by April 15 wins $10,000.
Cody urged Garrett to sign her Special Olympics team up on the site allowing people to cast their vote for the local team.Garrett did, and so far the local team is leading by about 80 votes.
She has urged retailers from Langdale to Egmont to tell their patrons about the online voting. Garrett said the local Special Olympics team is funded completely by donations and this year their funding is stretched thin with the organization needing to purchase new uniforms for their 33 athletes.
"With seven programs running it doesn't take us long to go through our budget. We need to purchase equipment and uniforms, and if we want to take our athletes off Coast, the cost escalates," Garrett said.
She said the local Special Olympics chapter is running curling, swimming, rhythmic gymnastics, soccer, softball, track and field and basketball programs this year and they are hoping to compete at the regional and provincial levels. To compete in each sport, the team needs appropriate uniforms.
"So much money needs to be dedicated to getting uniforms so when we go to compete we look like a team. So far we've had only the traditional track suits. We don't have a budget for [other] uniforms. Curling uniforms alone would run us $3,000 over budget," she said.
Garrett said some of the local athletes have aspirations of competing in the 2011 Special Olympics World Games. That means competing in the provincial and national competitions off Coast and increased travel costs.
"We'd love to take the team on the road, for example, to a swim meet in Kelowna or Victoria, but when you look at eight to 10 athletes and coaches travelling, the costs are up to $2,000 right off the bat. So a lot of those opportunities have gone by the wayside due to lack of money," Garrett said.
She hopes the Coast will get behind the local Special Olympics team and that lotto ticket buyers will cast their vote online. If that doesn't result in a win, Garrett says there are lots of other ways to help the team.
"We have a fashion show gala coming up on May 24 at 7 p.m. at the Seniors' Activity Centre in Sechelt. People could support that fundraiser," she said.
Tickets for the event that will showcase local fashion retailers will be $25 each and include appetizers and one drink. They will go on sale in April at local businesses.
There will also be a raffle for a signed Vancouver Canucks hockey stick sometime in September.
And Garrett invites people to come out to cheer on the team when they compete or get involved and volunteer.
"We're always looking for volunteers. You can never have too many, especially when you're running seven programs," she said.
The team is specifically looking for a softball coach right now.
If you would like to help by sharing your talents, time or money to the Special Olympics effort, contact Garrett at 604-886-9510.
