The Weyburn Humane Society held its first-ever fully online 50/50 draw from January 24th to February 14th, 2024. On Thursday, Deanna Fradette, the winner of the draw, visited the shelter to receive the cheque.

Shelter Manager Colleen Morrice said she missed the presentation, but the employee working at the time was brought to tears when Fradette donated the money right back to the WHS.

“I purchased 50/50 tickets to support the Humane Society in a small way,” explained Fradette. “When I won the draw, donating the winnings back just felt like the right thing to do. Maybe I will inspire others to be generous however they are able.”

Board chair Randy Bakaluk shared the reaction of the board members, who were not able to be at the shelter for the cheque presentation.

"The entire board was just floored. Like we thought like maybe they might donate it back a portion of it, you know, but to give the entire amount, it was just unbelievable."

He added that when they first got the text, they thought it was a typo, "like maybe they hit zero too many times. We checked and they said, 'no, that's what she did', and it's just hard to describe how great it was, especially not expecting anything like that at all."

The online platform used for the 50/50 required the WHS to cover administrative costs, leaving their half at around $7,000, so with Fradette's contribution, Bakaluk said it was unexpected and totally hard to describe how great it was to receive the funds back, which will be going toward their new building fund.

He added that the new format being completely online helped to save time for both their board members and volunteers, as well as for those who purchased tickets.

"It was totally online through an online company that nonprofits use for raffle sales. It gets totally set up online and it's all done by credit card. So we don't have to worry about handling cash during that and it's a real clean operation actually. We were quite impressed with it. It was worth the investment."

Bakaluk noted he hadn't met Fradette, but only knew her as a supporter of the WHS.