Fundraiser needed despite provincial funding (Twitter image)

By Brian Konrad

HALO fundraiser into it's third year

Cattle Er’ Cars Lottery Rides Again

Mar 7, 2023 | 12:16 PM

MEDICINE HAT — HALO air ambulance is back with it’s third annual Cattle Er’ Cars Cash lottery, part of an on-going fundraising effort by the service.

Response to previous lotteries has been mixed, with the first year selling out in just 42 days, while the second year was a struggle, with sales just over 50 per cent.

This year, the price of a ticket has been reduced to $75, which HALO CEO Paul Carolan hopes will be more attainable for people.

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For the first time, the provincial government has committed stable funding for HALO, an effort Carolan says was the culmination of years of effort.

However the province doesn’t pay for the entire HALO service so they need to continue fundraising efforts, as the provincial funding will only cover up to 50 per cent of operations.

Carolan says they still need to raise the other half.

“So whether that’s event based, whether that’s corporate donations, individual donations, we rely on it all,” says Carolan.

“I think the other thing for people to understand is that HALO has never spent a dollar we didn’t have, we’ve never run a deficit,” adds Carolan.

The CEO says there are some things in the future for program growth at HALO, so the budget will continue to rise and so too will the need to continue to raise funds.

C.D. Land and Cattle and Straightline VW continue as major corporate sponsors for the Cattle ‘Er Cars Cash Lottery.

There’s an early bird draw April 27 with the grand prize draw in June.