One London couple is starting the Canada Day long weekend off with a bang after finding out they won the Dream Lottery.
Brian and Sharon Moore are the latest winners of the London lottery in support of local hospitals and have a tough decision to make, with the chair of one of two dream homes or $1 million.
Reacting to the news, she and her husband had just won, Sharon was in disbelief.
“Oh, you’re kidding,” she remarked. “I can’t believe this!”
Sharon said she and her husband always buy tickets in the lottery.
Since starting the Dream Lottery in 1996, $50 million has been raised for local health care initiatives.
For the third time in a row, this year’s 50/50 ticket winner took home a record-setting amount. This year’s pot was $696,620 and it went to Al McIsaac of London.
During a call to let him know he won, McIsaac said he supports the Dream Lottery because his wife is a long-time patient of the hospital.
When asked if he thought he would ever win, he said the chances were “slim to none.”
“I have never won anything in this lottery for all the times we’ve been buying them.”
The two winners were announced Thursday at the Royal Oak Dream Home in Thorndale.
Michelle Campbell, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation, announced the grand prize winners and said it was great to hear they are regular participants in the Dream Lottery.
“We’ve had a really rough go for the last couple of years, everybody, and I think that’s partly why there’s been so much community support for the Dream Lottery because we all need to dream,” Campbell said.
When asked about the impact the lottery has on the community, Campbell said the lottery is becoming more vital to local healthcare.
“Government funding provides the funds we need to operate our hospitals, but it’s really the funds that come in through our foundation’s private philanthropy and fundraising that really provide a layer of excellence that enables us to get medical technology here,” she said.
“Sometimes our community has medical advancements first because of the dream lottery, and we can pioneer new treatments, we can fuel research discovery right in our hospitals. We could not do that without the dream lottery.”
The Dream Lottery supports St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation, London Health Sciences Foundation and Children’s Health Foundation.
“Our community never ceases to amaze me,” said John MacFarlane, president and CEO of London Health Sciences Foundation.
“Another record-breaking 50/50 that will continue to make a difference in the lives of patients and families at London’s hospitals. Because you choose to care, state-of-the-art equipment, specialized treatment options and ground-breaking research are made possible at our hospitals.”
All Dream Lottery and 50/50 prize results will be posted on the lottery’s website at dreamitwinit.ca by July 7, 2022.
Making a Difference Calendar draw prizes will be announced daily on the lottery website from July 1 to Oct. 31, 2022.