Popular Post Ed Mack Posted December 21, 2016 Popular Post Posted December 21, 2016 Hello LEGO fans...Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. It's that time of year again. Time to raise money for my son Max's school, St. Paul School, in Burlington, NJ. After a very...VERY...successful first BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE in which we raised over $62,000.00 for the school, a year has passed, and it’s time to raffle off some dynamic LEGO gifts for charity. The money we raised last year literally kept the school open...which is a great thing. It's a special school that once again was voted BEST Private School in Burlington County, NJ, by The Burlington County Times, along with numerous other awards, such as: CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL! Best Private School Best PreK-Nursery School Best Teacher Best Fundraiser Best Music Instruction Best Tutor Service (Junior National Honor Society) As I stated last year, St.Paul School (SPS) and its community are wonderful. People from all races and religions attend St. Paul School. Besides excelling in educating the children, the school does a tremendous amount of charity for local people in need. From food drives to helping out at local retirement homes, the children of St.Paul School are required to perform “service hours” that are designed to teach generosity, altruism and instill a hard-working, disciplined attitude. Excellence is expected and permeates through St. Paul School and the faculty and student body, so does a sense of goodness and frugalness. We make a little money go a long way. For example: All grade levels (Pre – K through 4) are scheduled for “Specials” each week...such as art, music, library, computers, and physical education St.Paul School is nationally accredited by “AdvancED” (the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement – NCA – CASI. SPS middle-school students have three periods of Spanish and are testing into Spanish II for High School. SPS provides more periods of physical education each week than is required by the State. SPS provides multiple extracurricular activities such as: LEGO Robotics Club, Science Club, Vocal Choir, Rosary Group, Tonal Chimes, Hand Bell Choir, Crafty Kids Club, Basketball (Boys/Girls), Indoor Soccer, Cheerleading, Yearbook Club, National Junior Honor Society (NJHS), Student Council, MATHCounts, STREAM (Science Technology Religion Engineering Art Math, Activity Tutorial Period (ATP for 5th-8th grades) But all is not wonderful though. As many of you know, many Catholic schools have a hard time making ends meet. Enrollments are down due to weak economic conditions throughout the world. Even superb schools like St. Paul School have a hard time keeping the doors open. While we did pick up 25 new students this past year to ease the financial burden, we will still be way short of breaking even; thus the need for the 2017 BrickPicker LEGO Raffle 2.0. This year’s version of the LEGO raffle will start with TEN awesome prizes.These include: PRIZE #1 BRICKPICKER MEMBER RAFFLE LOT: 21301 Birds (Salimr) Comic Con Throne of Ultron (echin313) Comic Con Dagobah Mini-Build (echin313) A mint 7144 Slave I (echin313) A mint 8001 Battle Droid (echin313) 10218 Pet Shop (exciter1) Rio Olympic Mascots set (Emvisawthatswho) 70816 Benny's Spaceship (Brickcrazyhouse) A special custom LEGO snow globe (Flanagan Bros Inc) PRIZE #2 BRICKPICKER MYSTERY RAFFLE LOT (OVER 5000 PIECES): A bundle of quality LEGO sets from multiple themes that will far exceed 5000 pieces! PRIZE #3: 10220 - VW Camper T1 Van 42056 - Porsche 911 GT3 RS PRIZE #4: 10227 - UCS B-Wing 75060 - UCS Slave I PRIZE #5: 10221 - UCS Super Star Destroyer PRIZE #6: $500 Amazon Gift Certificate PRIZE #7: 75159 - UCS Death Star OR 10188 Death Star PRIZE #8 CHOICE OF: 75827 - Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters OR 71040 - Disney Castle PRIZE #9 CHOICE OF: 10225 - UCS R2-D2 OR 10197 - Fire Brigade OR 10228 - Haunted House OR 10211 - Grand Emporium PRIZE #10: 10255 - Assembly Square 10251 - Brick Bank This year’s total prize value exceeds last year’s total by over $1000.00. Last year we had 11 raffle prizes and winners from around the world. From Vancouver, Canada to Reno, Nevada to Miami Beach, Florida to the Isle of Man, United Kingdom and everywhere in between, generous raffle participants were rewarded with awesome LEGO prizes. The 2017 BrickPicker LEGO Raffle 2.0 can be found here on the secure Rally.up.com site: CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL! Like last year, we will ship the prizes to anywhere across the globe. If there is an issue with shipping or prizes, a comparable prize and/or shipping method will be arranged with the winner. Last year, the LEGO BrickPicker Raffle worked very well. The Rallyup.com site is a first class, secure site that made this all possible. They also issued the school a big fat check. All raffle proceeds and donations benefit the school directly by bridging the gap between what tuition covers and actual educational costs. It also raises money to upgrade the school’s technology, keeping St. Paul School ahead of the academic curve with a dynamic curriculum. The prizes have been donated by Jeff and I, the St.Paul School PTA and by some very generous BrickPicker members. I am hoping, like last year, that more people will donate sets after the raffle begins. It was fun adding to the prizes last year. You never know what can pop up as a prize! On a personal note, I would like to thank every person who donated sets/money and/or bought tickets to last year’s LEGO BrickPicker Raffle. It saved a wonderful school and kept dozens of people employed and 175 kids with their friends and teachers. I don’t like asking, but will anyway...please help out again this year. Even buying one ticket can help and it gives you a chance to win some great prizes. Watching the raffle ticket total rise every day was an intense rush and extremely gratifying experience. It made me so proud to have started this site with my brother Jeff and made me realize there is still good in this world… The contest will end on February 7, 2017 at 11:59 PM. Winners will be notified by Rallyup.com. If you are a winner, please contact me on the site so we can confirm the prizes and shipping addresses. The Rallyup.com site works very well and is secure, so please feel confident in donating to the school and purchasing raffle tickets. All the money goes to St. Paul School, which is a 501(c)(3), and to Rallyup.com for running the raffle. I will make every effort to supply the winners with the appropriate prizes. If there are shipping issues, inventory issues or potential problems beyond my control, I will make sure the winners are awarded LEGO sets/gift cards comparable to the original prizes. Any questions, ideas or concerns, please reply below or PM Jeff or me... TICKETS AVAILABLE UNTIL: February 07, 2017 at 11:59 PM EST DRAWING DATE: February 08, 2017 at 12:00 PM EST Thanks again! Ed Mack View full blog article 17 Quote
Brian92007 Posted February 17, 2017 Posted February 17, 2017 On 2/17/2017 at 10:19 PM, TigerEyez said: Got my UCS B-Wing and AT-AT (thanks Ed for the swap out) today. Now I just have to find some display space. Expand You choose those two instead of ?/? Quote
echin313 Posted February 17, 2017 Posted February 17, 2017 On 2/16/2017 at 4:05 PM, Ed Mack said: My son and I used Google's Random Number Generator, along with an Excel spreadsheet to come up with the winner of the LEGO Secondary raffle. Over two hundred tickets were in this raffle, from well over a hundred very generous people! The winner is Waddamon! Please contact me for your choice of prizes and shipping address. I would like to thank everyone once again for their generosity. BrickPicker members have come through once again in support of a wonderful school and the kids and faculty are very grateful. All the main prizes have been shipped. Please post any pictures you have of the prizes or built sets. Thanks again! Ed Expand Well, I missed out in the main raffle and secondary raffle, but I was happy to contribute to a good cause! It was amazing seeing the donation amount climb that final day and I'm more than willing to do it again next year if needed. Congrats to all the winners! 1 Quote
TigerEyez Posted February 18, 2017 Posted February 18, 2017 (edited) On 2/17/2017 at 10:23 PM, Brian92007 said: You choose those two instead of ?/? Expand I asked for the AT-AT to replace Slave I. I have a S1 in my display collection and I didn't want to use the prize for financial gain, so I asked for an AT-AT which I've been wanting and the prices are getting kinda nuts. Edited February 18, 2017 by TigerEyez 3 Quote
Popular Post thombockerman Posted February 18, 2017 Popular Post Posted February 18, 2017 I was the lucky member to win the mystery prize! My sons (and dog) helped make an unboxing video. Thank you very much brickpicker.com, Ed and Jeff. 17 Quote
BrickLegacy Posted February 18, 2017 Posted February 18, 2017 Anyone else cringe when the little guy started handling the MISB raptor escape? Don't want to spoil the rest but the dog stole the show with his opening act Great video, thanks for sharing! 2 Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 18, 2017 Author Posted February 18, 2017 On 2/18/2017 at 12:43 AM, thombockerman said: I was the lucky member to win the mystery prize! My sons (and dog) helped make an unboxing video. Thank you very much brickpicker.com, Ed and Jeff. Expand Thank you for a wonderful video. This just confirms my belief of why LEGO sets are the best toy ever created. The dog was great. I'm glad the sets found a wonderful home. On 2/18/2017 at 12:25 AM, TigerEyez said: I asked for the AT-AT to replace Slave I. I have a S1 in my display collection and I didn't want to use the prize for financial gain, so I asked for an AT-AT which I've been wanting and the prices are getting kinda nuts. Expand I looked at the prices of the AT-AT after I sent it and knew I made a bad deal. LOL 1 Quote
Jeff Mack Posted February 18, 2017 Posted February 18, 2017 @thombockerman, great video. You have a really nice family! Kids are super cute and I love the dog even coming in to have some fun. It's a great feeling to be part of it and see the sets go to great people. 1 Quote
waddamon Posted February 18, 2017 Posted February 18, 2017 I can't believe I actually won, I never won anything. I'll be inviting a fellow Lego nerd(though mch younger than me) to come over and smooth to see if Mr. Gold is in the box of minifigs. Thank you so much. They should run this fundraiser before year end, people would give more for the tax write off. October through December or something. Thanks for all you guys do. 3 Quote
jaisonline Posted February 18, 2017 Posted February 18, 2017 On 2/18/2017 at 12:43 AM, thombockerman said: I was the lucky member to win the mystery prize! My sons (and dog) helped make an unboxing video. Thank you very much brickpicker.com, Ed and Jeff. Expand Dude, your family and dog video made me smile. 2 thumbs up. P.S. I would kill to grow a beard that thick. It's awesome. Quote
Lego Templar Posted February 18, 2017 Posted February 18, 2017 Awesome! We should have a video based thread (if we don't already have one) based on stuff like this. Whether it's a build, introduction, video of collection etc. it's nice SEEING fellow AFOL and other people's passion about lego. Makes it a bit more personal! (We are a big family here! Lol) 1 Quote
thombockerman Posted February 18, 2017 Posted February 18, 2017 I agree, I also enjoy watching lego build videos with my son, we will probably build the exo suit tomorrow. The beard is actually for a bet with co workers, about twelve of us are in the pot for $100 each person who shaves before June. Whoever still hasn't shaved when June comes along splits the pot. It started December 1, and I'm crossing my fingers for a big payout. So far 5 of the guys have shaved. Not to get too far off topic but my wife knits quite a bit, and I can honestly say it's pretty much level with my lego hobby and enthusiasm. There is a particularly wel known knitters website, and some of the groups of knitters make gift swap boxes for each other and their families around holiday times. Some knit pieces, some yarn, some treats and toys for the kiddies. It's like secret santa and everyone enjoys it, they try to make a video or at least many photos bragging on their killer generous swap giver. I wonder if something like that would interest anyone here? also for next years raffle I would be happy to donate a prize! Quote
Sfcommando14 Posted February 18, 2017 Posted February 18, 2017 On 2/18/2017 at 12:43 AM, thombockerman said: I was the lucky member to win the mystery prize! My sons (and dog) helped make an unboxing video. Thank you very much brickpicker.com, Ed and Jeff. Expand My kids are similar ages and it was nice to see how very similar they behave. My daughter also would have been distracted and building at the first sign of something she liked. Congratulations and have fun building! On 2/18/2017 at 1:08 AM, BrickLegacy said: Anyone else cringe when the little guy started handling the MISB raptor escape? Expand YUP! On 2/18/2017 at 1:49 AM, waddamon said: I can't believe I actually won, I never won anything. I'll be inviting a fellow Lego nerd(though mch younger than me) to come over and smooth to see if Mr. Gold is in the box of minifigs. Thank you so much. They should run this fundraiser before year end, people would give more for the tax write off. October through December or something. Thanks for all you guys do. Expand I would have taken the minifigs too. Good luck and congratulations! Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 18, 2017 Author Posted February 18, 2017 On 2/18/2017 at 1:49 AM, waddamon said: I can't believe I actually won, I never won anything. I'll be inviting a fellow Lego nerd(though mch younger than me) to come over and smooth to see if Mr. Gold is in the box of minifigs. Thank you so much. They should run this fundraiser before year end, people would give more for the tax write off. October through December or something. Thanks for all you guys do.I always wondered what the most effective timing of the raffle would be. I figured after the Holidays and into the boring days of Winter would be the best time, but if people think otherwise and have any ideas, I would be willing to listen. Quote
jaisonline Posted February 18, 2017 Posted February 18, 2017 On 2/18/2017 at 12:38 PM, Ed Mack said: I always wondered what the most effective timing of the raffle would be. I figured after the Holidays and into the boring days of Winter would be the best time, but if people think otherwise and have any ideas, I would be willing to listen. Expand Having a rafffle ending in Dec could go either way, I like the ability to write off charitable contributions / gambling losses (depends on your accounting and tax laws ) sooner than later. However, people are spending a ton in Nov and Dec on the holidays. Not sure if a raffle would get lost in the mix. Quote
Jeff Mack Posted February 18, 2017 Posted February 18, 2017 The amount of money people were spending on all the deals this past Nov/Dec was off the charts, I really think the raffle would have be the last thing people would have been interested in. 1 Quote
jaisonline Posted February 18, 2017 Posted February 18, 2017 On 2/18/2017 at 1:46 PM, Jeff Mack said: The amount of money people were spending on all the deals this past Nov/Dec was off the charts, I really think the raffle would have be the last thing people would have been interested in. Expand Agreed. How about about the beginning of the school year if it needs to change. Personally, I don't mind the current dates. Quote
Popular Post belljohn Posted February 19, 2017 Popular Post Posted February 19, 2017 My packages finally arrived yesterday. @thombockerman really upped the ante. Who do you think is more excited, my daughter or me? These are the 2 modulars we need to complete our collection. I will get a photo of them all when I can, we are under a bit of construction now. Thanks again. My daughter wanted to start right away. We finished the first 2 bags of the bank before bedtime. 10 Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 19, 2017 Author Posted February 19, 2017 On 2/19/2017 at 2:15 PM, belljohn said: My packages finally arrived yesterday. @thombockerman really upped the ante. Who do you think is more excited, my daughter or me? These are the 2 modulars we need to complete our collection. I will get a photo of them all when I can, we are under a bit of construction now. Thanks again. My daughter wanted to start right away. We finished the first 2 bags of the bank before bedtime. Expand Great video. It makes me smile when I see the kid's faces when they open the boxes. That's why LEGO is the best... Quote
chibhawk Posted February 20, 2017 Posted February 20, 2017 GBHQ arrived safe and sound! The photo is from a few days ago after yet another storm from this past week. This will be much more enjoyable than the snowblowing and shoveling from the last few days. Thank you once again! 3 Quote
mcm96 Posted February 21, 2017 Posted February 21, 2017 We got ours yesterday. Tried to convince my husband to take a pic with it. He's shy. ? I'll take a picture of it soon and load it here. Thank you!! 1 Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 21, 2017 Author Posted February 21, 2017 On 2/20/2017 at 10:51 PM, chibhawk said: GBHQ arrived safe and sound! The photo is from a few days ago after yet another storm from this past week. This will be much more enjoyable than the snowblowing and shoveling from the last few days. Thank you once again! Expand Looks nice. We can't buy snow in South Jersey. Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 23, 2017 Author Posted February 23, 2017 Here is a picture from the R2-D2 winner. They had issues posting it... Quote
Phil B Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 On 2/23/2017 at 5:13 PM, Ed Mack said: Here is a picture from the R2-D2 winner. They had issues posting it... Expand Says "Displaying 20170222_071200.jpg" for me, no actual picture ..... 1 Quote
hadrake Posted February 23, 2017 Posted February 23, 2017 On 2/23/2017 at 5:35 PM, Phil B said: Says "Displaying 20170222_071200.jpg" for me, no actual picture ..... Expand Same here. Cannot see a picture... Quote
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