If he's a homeowner, Lively's Richard Lafleur now finds himself in a bit of a conundrum.
Does he keep his current home? Or, does he move into the new home he just won through the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association's Dream House Draw?
Perhaps he doesn't own a home, but now is the owner of a $594,730 house located at 835 Robinson Dr. Built by SLV Homes, it comes furnished. As the grand prize winner, Lafleur also gets a smart car.
If he doesn't want the home, Lafleur can opt to take $380,000 in cash. He still gets the furnishing and the car.
Either way, it's a pretty sweet predicament to be in.
Lafleur's winning tickets was one of more than 71,000 sold for this year's campaign. Kim Scott, executive director of the Hard of Hearing Association, said the final tally isn't in yet as to how much was raised, but enough profit was made that the draw will be back again next year.
“We receive no government funding, so all of the proceeds from the Dream House Draw is what helps us operate day to day,” she said. “It pays for all of the programs and services offered by the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association. Hundreds of thousands of people across Northeastern Ontario would have to go without if it weren't for this campaign and the community supporting it.
The Dream House Draw supports programs like the Hear Now fund, which allows people to purchase hearing aids — between $90,000 to $100,000 is spent on this program every year — as well as one of organization's newest program, the Hear the North campaign, that is focus on improving accessibility in public places for people with hearing loss.
“We'll be working with places like Sudbury Theatre Centre so people with hearing loss can go and enjoy the performance just as much as everyone else,” Scott said.
She thanked all of those who purchased tickets for this year's Dream House.
“I don't know of any other community that would be so supportive of this campaign,” she said. “It's really growing in popularity. It's the only place in Canada you can win a house for $20.”
Other winners were:
- Barb Caskenette, who wins $5,000 cash and a $2,000 Metro Grocery gift card.
- Deb Devlin, who wins a $3,000 Metro Grocery gift card.
- Ryan Karns, who wins a $1,000 A&J Home Hardware gift card.
- Cindy Blancher Smith, who wins a $500 A&J Home Hardware gift card.
- Richard Gagnon, who wins a $500 A&J Home Hardware gift card.
- And Jeff Bilton, Scottie Frankum, Kenny Farr and Chris Nakogee, all of whom win a $500 Giant Tiger gift card.
