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
Ed Mack Posted February 14, 2017 Author Posted February 14, 2017 Two more boxes went out this morning...The R2-D2 and UCS B-Wing/Slave 1 raffles. I will send the largest two "lots" out over the next two days. Don't forget, people still have until 11:59PM tonight to get into the secondary raffle. All it takes is $100 donated to get one ticket. You can still donate here...https://stpaulbrl.rallyup.com/st-paul-2017 The secondary raffle winner will be posted later tomorrow. I will post the video of my son pulling the winner on the site. Any questions, feel free to ask... Quote
geno Posted February 14, 2017 Posted February 14, 2017 Has anyone asked the burning question about the Prize #2 Mystery Lot, or will it forever stay a secret? Was the mystery lot from last year ever disclosed? Had I won, could they have all been worriz fire bikes? Quote
bassking511 Posted February 15, 2017 Posted February 15, 2017 Received the vehicle lot today. Can't wait to build it. Thanks so much Ed. I'm glad the raffle was a success, hope it's enough for the school. Good luck to everyone in the bonus drawing. 5 Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 15, 2017 Author Posted February 15, 2017 On 2/14/2017 at 9:50 PM, bassking511 said: Received the vehicle lot today. Can't wait to build it. Thanks so much Ed. I'm glad the raffle was a success, hope it's enough for the school. Good luck to everyone in the bonus drawing. Glad they made it in one piece! I shipped the two large lots today...One to the mountains of British Columbia and another one to Ohio. The last prize should be taken care of tomorrow. Can you believe we have one repeat winner from last year? She won last year's Friends Raffle and this year's R2-D2 raffle. It's funny because I looked at her name and it looked familiar, so I checked older emails and she told me she really wanted to win the R2 raffle from last year. Well...things worked out! 1 Quote
Guest TabbyBoy Posted February 15, 2017 Posted February 15, 2017 LOL - Did non-US winning tickets go back into the draw until a US one was picked? Seriously, it was a pleasure donating to a good cause ;-0 Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 15, 2017 Author Posted February 15, 2017 4 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said: LOL - Did non-US winning tickets go back into the draw until a US one was picked? Seriously, it was a pleasure donating to a good cause ;-0 One prize to Canada and another to Austria. I am still working on Austria, but we will get it done! Last year we had one to Canada and another to the Isle Of Man. As I said, I will ship anywhere! Quote
Phil B Posted February 15, 2017 Posted February 15, 2017 14 minutes ago, Ed Mack said: Glad they made it in one piece! I shipped the two large lots today...One to the mountains of British Columbia and another one to Ohio. The last prize should be taken care of tomorrow. Can you believe we have one repeat winner from last year? She won last year's Friends Raffle and this year's R2-D2 raffle. It's funny because I looked at her name and it looked familiar, so I checked older emails and she told me she really wanted to win the R2 raffle from last year. Well...things worked out! Some people just have luck in these things. A few years ago we knew a family (daughters danced together) who, just like us, entered the local sports facilities raffle baskets drawing each year. Same amount of tickets as we purchased. For 4 years in a row, they won at least one basket each year. Sigh .... Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 15, 2017 Author Posted February 15, 2017 6 minutes ago, Phil B said: Some people just have luck in these things. A few years ago we knew a family (daughters danced together) who, just like us, entered the local sports facilities raffle baskets drawing each year. Same amount of tickets as we purchased. For 4 years in a row, they won at least one basket each year. Sigh .... True...After analyzing the results, the 4 of the winners were in the Top 10 of tickets purchased, so there is a case for more tickets...more chance to win. I know I didn't win crap for two years and I tried! Quote
hadrake Posted February 15, 2017 Posted February 15, 2017 27 minutes ago, Ed Mack said: One prize to Canada and another to Austria. I am still working on Austria, but we will get it done! Last year we had one to Canada and another to the Isle Of Man. As I said, I will ship anywhere! Well, one package has already arrived here in Austria - the bonus set to the Deathstar 75159. Will post a pic soon. I hope that I wasn't too much a troublemaker for you Ed. 41 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said: LOL - Did non-US winning tickets go back into the draw until a US one was picked? Seriously, it was a pleasure donating to a good cause ;-0 TabbyBoy, the success (for everybody) lies in the number of tickets you purchase. Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 15, 2017 Author Posted February 15, 2017 1 minute ago, hadrake said: Well, one package has already arrived here in Austria - the bonus set to the Deathstar 75159. Will post a pic soon. I hope that I wasn't too much a troublemaker for you Ed. TabbyBoy, the success (for everybody) lies in the number of tickets you purchase. No, not at all. We should be able to wrap it up tomorrow. Too bad you wanted the 75159...I was trying to unload the 10188 on you! 2 Quote
BrickLegacy Posted February 15, 2017 Posted February 15, 2017 5 minutes ago, Ed Mack said: No, not at all. We should be able to wrap it up tomorrow. Too bad you wanted the 75159...I was trying to unload the 10188 on you! I figured that raffle was a trap. If you picked the 75159, you were banished from BrickPicker forever. Is that not so? 2 Quote
hadrake Posted February 15, 2017 Posted February 15, 2017 4 minutes ago, Ed Mack said: No, not at all. We should be able to wrap it up tomorrow. Too bad you wanted the 75159...I was trying to unload the 10188 on you! Well, I already have that one in my secret storage vault. Although for a minute I was thinking about a second one, that I could really open and build .... maybe next time. Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 15, 2017 Author Posted February 15, 2017 1 minute ago, BrickLegacy said: I figured that raffle was a trap. If you picked the 75159, you were banished from BrickPicker forever. Is that not so? Well, I didn't want to include the 75159 because of the price, but considering that the Death Star was the most sough after raffle ticket last year, I had to give it a shot. Quote
hadrake Posted February 15, 2017 Posted February 15, 2017 3 minutes ago, BrickLegacy said: I figured that raffle was a trap. If you picked the 75159, you were banished from BrickPicker forever. Is that not so? Damn, now I remember why I always refused tu buy it - the bad reputation. Quote
belljohn Posted February 15, 2017 Posted February 15, 2017 1 hour ago, Ed Mack said: True...After analyzing the results, the 4 of the winners were in the Top 10 of tickets purchased, so there is a case for more tickets...more chance to win. I know I didn't win crap for two years and I tried! If you win your own raffle, is that just an excuse to build something that was too expensive to open, or just to save on shipping? I was thrilled to win this year, but my daughter was more excited because said now we get to open more sets instead of leaving them in the box. I don't know if I was in the top 10 of tickets, but the ROI isn't so great up there at the top. Of course it is the melting smile of the little Mack in front of the Christmas tree that says it all. Thanks again. Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 15, 2017 Author Posted February 15, 2017 1 hour ago, belljohn said: If you win your own raffle, is that just an excuse to build something that was too expensive to open, or just to save on shipping? I was thrilled to win this year, but my daughter was more excited because said now we get to open more sets instead of leaving them in the box. I don't know if I was in the top 10 of tickets, but the ROI isn't so great up there at the top. Of course it is the melting smile of the little Mack in front of the Christmas tree that says it all. Thanks again. You were very generous. As for me, I would have raffled off the set again to raise more money. Quote
hadrake Posted February 16, 2017 Posted February 16, 2017 While I am still waiting for the Deathstar to arrive, I thought that I'd post the bonus set. Thanks again, Ed. 5 Quote
hadrake Posted February 16, 2017 Posted February 16, 2017 22 hours ago, BrickLegacy said: I figured that raffle was a trap. If you picked the 75159, you were banished from BrickPicker forever. Is that not so? .... and here it is!!! Can you feel the dark force? ( .....please don't banish me ) 1 Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 16, 2017 Author Posted February 16, 2017 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 4 Quote
hadrake Posted February 16, 2017 Posted February 16, 2017 5 minutes ago, 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 Congrats to Waddamon! Hope we'll hear if there was a Mr. Gold in there after all. Quote
Brian92007 Posted February 16, 2017 Posted February 16, 2017 I didn't win but is ok I'm glad it went to good cause. Good luck to all the winners. Thanks again ed. Let's keep doing these every year. Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 16, 2017 Author Posted February 16, 2017 22 minutes ago, Brian92007 said: I didn't win but is ok I'm glad it went to good cause. Good luck to all the winners. Thanks again ed. Let's keep doing these every year. I'm leaving my options open for next year. If the school needs my help, I will be there... 1 Quote
Sprocket77 Posted February 16, 2017 Posted February 16, 2017 1 minute ago, Ed Mack said: I'm leaving my options open for next year. If the school needs my help, I will be there... He says with clenched teeth, praying to god that they don't, so he can have an easier life Quote
Ed Mack Posted February 16, 2017 Author Posted February 16, 2017 2 minutes ago, Sprocket77 said: He says with clenched teeth, praying to god that they don't, so he can have an easier life I know what you are saying. It is what it is as they say. It might sound corny to some, but something led me to that school. A gut feeling. Something. If that was by some divine power, so be it. I believe in Karma and being a positive in life and being a giver. If by raffling off some LEGO sets, my brother and I (and some generous people) can save a person's job or keep a school community together, I'll do it again...and again. It's more of a humbling experience than anything I have experienced. 2 Quote
TigerEyez Posted February 17, 2017 Posted February 17, 2017 Got my UCS B-Wing and AT-AT (thanks Ed for the swap out) today. Now I just have to find some display space. 2 Quote
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