2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2.0 FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL

[Ed Mack]

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

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[HandyHand]

Congratulations to the winners of the Raffle, and especially congratulations to SPSchool for being the main winner here!  

[TigerEyez]

So if you ran the case of Series 10 through a metal detector, would it go off if Mr. Gold was in it?

[Ed Mack]

1 minute ago, TigerEyez said:

So if you ran the case of Series 10 through a metal detector, would it go off if Mr. Gold was in it?

You never know...There could be a $1500 Mr. Gold minifigure in it.  

[SweepyD]

Grats to the school and grats to the winners

Edited February 8, 2017 by SweepyD

[mcm96]

I personally hope there is another raffle next year.  Where else can you get kewl sets and contribute to a great cause?

If there is no raffle then just put a donate button up and do a reminder email.  That's how I saw it.

Thank you to all who are willing to give up your sets.  I'm sorry I just can't do it.  ?

[Ed Mack]

10 hours ago, mcm96 said:

I personally hope there is another raffle next year.  Where else can you get kewl sets and contribute to a great cause?

If there is no raffle then just put a donate button up and do a reminder email.  That's how I saw it.

Thank you to all who are willing to give up your sets.  I'm sorry I just can't do it. 

We will see what develops over the next year.  The response again this year was great.  I think people like the LEGO raffle, although it's tough for me asking for help and I don't want to be a pest.  I will feel better after I finish packaging these sets out and they are shipped. I am in the process of collecting the winner's information.  I am still waiting on the winner of the Disney Castle/Ghostbusters HQ to contact me.  

A quick question for people living in Europe.  One winner is from Austria.  What country's LEGO S@H should I use to ship a set there?  Germany?  How about Amazon in Austria?  Any help would be appreciated!

[Phil B]

2 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

  I am still waiting on the winner of the Disney Castle/Ghostbusters HQ to contact me.  

 

Dibs on the HQ if (s)he doesn't respond!

Edited February 9, 2017 by Phil B

[Ed Mack]

5 minutes ago, Phil B said:

Dibs on the HQ if (s)he doesn't respond!

I just wrote them again.  

[brickelements]

2 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

I just wrote them again.  

That's funny I don't seem to be getting any of your emails.   Oh wait I didn't actually win.

[Juan Carlos Gonzalez]

2 hours ago, Ed Mack said:

I just wrote them again.  

Is it perhaps that the winner is the extra handsome bidder from New Jersey? If that is correct, you may have my email address wrong or I am living in a parallel universe that I made up. ?

[mcm96]

Dibs on the castle.  If they don't respond then let's have our own bidding war right here in the blog.  ?

[mcm96]

9 hours ago, Ed Mack said:

 I think people like the LEGO raffle, although it's tough for me asking for help and I don't want to be a pest.

This community site is FREEEEEE!!!  IT'S AWESOMMMMEEE!!  I'd stay here all day if I could.  So, I don't believe anyone sees this as you being a pest.  I wish this school was here in Oklahoma.  It sounds great.  Your kid was cute in the video.  Natural You Tube Star!  We LOVEEEEE THE RAFFLEEEE!!!  And a school stays open; people keep their awesome jobs.  What's not to love?   Like one person said.  Site is free the least we can do is help out.  

[Ed Mack]

37 minutes ago, mcm96 said:

This community site is FREEEEEE!!!  IT'S AWESOMMMMEEE!!  I'd stay here all day if I could.  So, I don't believe anyone sees this as you being a pest.  I wish this school was here in Oklahoma.  It sounds great.  Your kid was cute in the video.  Natural You Tube Star!  We LOVEEEEE THE RAFFLEEEE!!!  And a school stays open; people keep their awesome jobs.  What's not to love?   Like one person said.  Site is free the least we can do is help out.  

Thanks for the kind words.  My son is a character.

[chibhawk]

Sorry everyone, I was the slow-to-respond winner for the GBHQ. I'm thrilled to have won and humbled that I was able to.

As with any smart decision, I asked the wife which set to choose because I love building together with her. Life is always busy, but when we have time to build a set, we enjoy taking turns of one person building while the other pulls the pieces. Our last build was the Winter Holiday Train and she loves it. She knows how much I enjoy Ghostbusters, from watching the movies often to having the toys as a child (I had the Kenner HQ and figures but they were garage saled as a pre-teen, terrible decision), she agreed that would be the set to pick. Plus I added maybe we should get the Disney Castle down the road (since this will hopefully entice toward that). The HQ has been on the wishlist for a year now and this will be a wonderful build.

Thank you again to Ed, Jeff, and everyone involved. I attended a parochial school growing up so I'm thankful to those who can help out. Please know that this set will have a good home and we'll post some photos once we get building!

[Juan Carlos Gonzalez]

32 minutes ago, chibhawk said:

Sorry everyone, I was the slow-to-respond winner for the GBHQ. I'm thrilled to have won and humbled that I was able to.

 

Darn, just as we were about to start a new bidding war, you replied!

 

Err, I mean, congratulations! I hope you and your wife enjoy building the HQ. Seems like a great project to tackle together. Maybe even add a little siren sound and lights?

[Ed Mack]

OK, I have everybody's information.  I will start drop shipping the new and in stock items today.   I will send the winners the shipping info form Amazon or LEGO Shop@Home.  I will package up items this weekend and early next week for the rest of the retired LEGO prizes and they will start going out early next week.  I have to grab some sets from Jeff and find some big boxes.  

The secondary LEGO raffle will occur later next week once the raffle is officially closed to donations (Next Tuesday night).  People still have a chance to donate money to get into that raffle.  Remember, it's a $100 in ticket purchases or donations to get one ticket for that raffle.  Thanks again for your generosity and your patience.  

Ed Mack

[Ed Mack]

Amazon Gift Cards have been sent.  One prize down.  Nine to go.

[Ed Mack]

Brick Bank and Assembly Square sent.  Eight more to go.

[Ed Mack]

Ghostbusters HQ sent.  Seven more to go.  The rest will start going out tomorrow.  

[Gryphon86]

I received my Amazon Gift Card this morning.  Many thanks to the organizers.  This was my first raffle but won't be my last.  

[Ed Mack]

LEGO Vehicles Raffle prizes went out.  Six more to go.  More tomorrow.

[Ed Mack]

SSD went out this morning.  Five more to ship....

[KShine]

1 minute ago, Ed Mack said:

SSD went out this morning.  Five more to ship....

I would have to guess that you are starting to remember how much fun packing/shipping these monster sets are.

[Ed Mack]

3 minutes ago, KShine said:

I would have to guess that you are starting to remember how much fun packing/shipping these monster sets are.

Luckily, Amazon and LEGO did a few.  Believe me...I know.  That's why I haven't sold any.  It's a pain in the @$$.

[exciter1]

5 minutes ago, KShine said:

I would have to guess that you are starting to remember how much fun packing/shipping these monster sets are.

I don't want to talk about it.