Ed Mack Posted March 31, 2019 Posted March 31, 2019 Hello BrickPickers and LEGO fans from around the world... Time flies...It’s a little later than usual, but it's that time of year again. Time to raise money for my son Max's school, St. Paul School, in Burlington, NJ. After three very...VERY...successful LEGO Raffles... 2016 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2017 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE 2018 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE ...in which we raised over $150,000.00 for the school, another year has passed, and it’s time to raffle off some more dynamic LEGO gifts for charity. The money we raised the last three years literally kept the school open...which is a great thing. It's a special school that once again was voted BEST or ONE of the BEST Private Schools (4 years in a row) in Burlington County, NJ, by The Burlington County Times. Along with the whole school being voted either BEST or One of the Best, St. Paul School and its faculty also won numerous other awards, such as: Best or One of the Best Private Schools Best PreK-Nursery School Best or One of the Best Teacher(s) Best Fundraiser Best or One of the Best Music Instruction Best Tutor Service (Junior National Honor Society) Best SAT/ACT Preparation Service CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL! As I stated, the last three years, St. Paul School (SPS) and its community are special. My son loves the school, even though he won't admit it. Most days he actually runs into the school. 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 and many families do not have the extra money to spend on a private education. Even superb schools like St. Paul School have a hard time keeping the doors open. While our enrollment has stabilized, we will still be way short of breaking even; thus the need for the 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE. This year’s version of the LEGO raffle will start with TEN awesome prizes. These include: Keep St. Paul Strong 2019 $1000.00 Amazon Gift card 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon Amusement Park Sets 10196 Grand Carousel(Preowned by Ed Mack, Clean and Complete with Box/Instructions) 10247 Creator Ferris Wheel STAR WARS Sidekicks 10225 R2-D2 75187 BB-8 75230 Porg DC and Marvel Comics Super Sized Set Lot 76042 The SHIELD Helicarrier OR 76023 The Tumbler AND 76052 Batman Classic TV Series Batcave Modular Madness 10224 Town Hall (Box is in poor condition...Set is new in sealed bags) 10281 Pet Shop (New with some shelf wear) 10246 Detective’s Office (New) St. Paul School Mystery Lot (Dozens of sets...Thousands and thousands of pieces) Fast and the Furious 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS OR 42083 Bugatti Chiron AND 10265 Ford Mustang British Invasion! 10253 Creator Big Ben 10214 Creator Tower Bridge PLUS “BONUS SET”!!! Spook Spectacular Lot 10228 Haunted House 30200 Zombie Chauffeur Coffin Car 40260 Halloween Haunt 9461 The Swamp Creature 9464 The Vampyre Hearse 850487 Minifigures Halloween Accessory Set 40203 Vampyre and Bat Once again, this year’s total prize value equals or exceeds the previous three year's total prize value. The last three years, we had 31 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. I wish we had some winners in New Jersey so I can hand deliver the sets...maybe this year! We even had repeat winners! The 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE can be found here on the secure Rally.up.com site: CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE 2019 BRICKPICKER LEGO RAFFLE FOR ST. PAUL SCHOOL! Like the last three years, 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. The last two years, the LEGO BRICKPICKER RAFFLES 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(s). 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, once again, I would like to thank every person who donated sets/money and/or bought tickets to last three year’s LEGO BRICKPICKER RAFFLES. It helped save 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. I know some people do not approve of donating to faith- based schools or charities. I respect that, but also please respect my beliefs. This is not about religion. This is about helping a great school remain open and kids in their school and teachers in their jobs. Please keep negative comments to yourself. Thank you... The structure is slightly different this year. Unlike in the past three years when, for example, $10.00 would buy a single chance, this year $10.00 will buy 10 chances or raffle tickets in some of the raffles. This is done for several reasons. For one, the Rallyup.com site has come up with a way to help put more money into the charity’s bank account. They will ask if a person who buys chances will “donate” money to support the raffle. In years past, St. Paul School would have to pay a percentage back to the Rallyup.com site to run it. This year, people can donate a few dollars to help out, and they will GET MORE CHANCES FOR PRIZES if they do so. Donors will visit the campaign page and choose how many raffle entries they want to purchase. During checkout, they’ll be asked if they want to add a small "tip" to help fund the campaign costs. In exchange, they’ll receive a limited number of “bonus” entries into the drawing. Tipping is entirely optional. This is a win-win for the school and for donors! The contest will end on May 21, 2019, at 11:59 PM. Winners will be notified by Rallyup.com early on the 22nd of May. 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: May 21, 2019, at 11:59 PM EST (Cinco de Mayo) DRAWING DATE: May 22, 2019, at 12:00 AM EST Thanks again! Ed Mack <<<<NEW TEXT OPTION>>>> DIAL 855-202-2100 AND TEXT “LEGORAFFLE” TO GET INSTANT ACCESS TO THE RAFFLE! View full blog article Quote
Ed Mack Posted March 31, 2019 Author Posted March 31, 2019 The 2019 BrickPicker LEGO Raffle is now LIVE. Good luck to everyone and thank you! 8 Quote
LucySPSMOM Posted April 1, 2019 Posted April 1, 2019 Always amazed at the support this event brings. Thank you from long time SPSMOM - my daughter graduated last year and is doing well in her classes in High School and my son is currently in 6th grade at St. Paul School with great grades and long time friends. Can't wait to see this year's prizes - maybe I'll finally win????? 1 Quote
LisaH Posted April 2, 2019 Posted April 2, 2019 This community is amazing! The whole SPS family is so thankful for your support! Three of my children and my husband have graduated from SPS. I do have a 6th grader currently there and my mother in law is still a substitute teacher at St. Paul's . There's strong roots in SPS! 1 Quote
marcandre Posted April 2, 2019 Posted April 2, 2019 Offering a Grand Carousel is impressive. Good luck with the raffle this year. 1 Quote
Ed Mack Posted April 2, 2019 Author Posted April 2, 2019 4 hours ago, marcandre said: Offering a Grand Carousel is impressive. Good luck with the raffle this year. Thank you. It's my one and only. Beautiful set. Worthy of a few tickets. 3 Quote
atravia Posted April 2, 2019 Posted April 2, 2019 I have 2 boys enrolled in this school and my husband graduated from here as well. My sons have grown and learned so much from everyone at the school. They have seen so much generosity not only from this group and Ed’s fundraising abilities but from all who have supported their education. This year they decided they wanted to give back to the school that has done so much for them. Thank you for helping keep their school growing and showing them such great support. 4 Quote
Ed Mack Posted April 6, 2019 Author Posted April 6, 2019 20 hours ago, Quacs said: In for three! Thank you! Quote
BrickU Posted April 11, 2019 Posted April 11, 2019 Donated. Thanks Ed & Jeff. You guys are the best! Quote
redghostx Posted April 12, 2019 Posted April 12, 2019 I'm glad this is running again and I will be sure to get some tickets to support the school. Sidenote: Hey, I'm still alive. Sent from my LM-G710 using Brickpicker Forum mobile app Quote
Ed Mack Posted April 13, 2019 Author Posted April 13, 2019 19 hours ago, redghostx said: I'm glad this is running again and I will be sure to get some tickets to support the school. Sidenote: Hey, I'm still alive. Sent from my LM-G710 using Brickpicker Forum mobile app Thanks. I'm glad you are alive. Quote
Ed Mack Posted April 15, 2019 Author Posted April 15, 2019 I have extended the LEGO raffle until May 19, 2019 at 11:59 PM. I have seen it in my business and other local businesses as of late that the "2019 Tax Season" is taking a toll on spending. I think people are getting hit hard with taxes this year and returns are less than in previous years. While I realize we do a lot of our ticket sales in the last week of the raffle, I think it would be prudent to extend the raffle a bit beyond tax season. I am hoping this will help donations. Thanks...Ed Mack 3 Quote
BricksBrotha Posted April 18, 2019 Posted April 18, 2019 (edited) Quick question regarding the 'Bonus' Tickets. If someone was to buy tickets to muliple packages, how are the bonus tickets divided among different drawings? Thanks in advance and great looking site this year! Edited April 18, 2019 by BricksBrotha added ? Quote
Guest TabbyBoy Posted April 18, 2019 Posted April 18, 2019 (edited) Has anybody in the UK or EU won? If so, were there any customs penalties or charges? I was thinking of buying tickets with half and simply donating the other half. Edited April 18, 2019 by TabbyBoy Quote
Ed Mack Posted April 18, 2019 Author Posted April 18, 2019 1 hour ago, BricksBrotha said: Quick question regarding the 'Bonus' Tickets. If someone was to buy tickets to muliple packages, how are the bonus tickets divided among different drawings? Thanks in advance and great looking site this year! A great question. I will ask Rallyup.com reps. I will get back to you. 1 Quote
Ed Mack Posted April 18, 2019 Author Posted April 18, 2019 34 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said: Has anybody in the UK or EU won? If so, were there any customs penalties or charges? I was thinking of buying tickets with half and simply donating the other half. Yes, we had two winners in the UK over the past three years I believe. One on The Isle of Man which I sent to another address within mainland England and another in London. I always make it worthwhile to winners if there is an issue. Last year I gave a winner in Singapore $600.00 (US) to buy a Disney Castle when it would have cost almost half that in the US. I have sent money via Pay Pal numerous times if shipping was a major issue or hassle. 4 Quote
Ed Mack Posted April 18, 2019 Author Posted April 18, 2019 4 hours ago, BricksBrotha said: Quick question regarding the 'Bonus' Tickets. If someone was to buy tickets to muliple packages, how are the bonus tickets divided among different drawings? Thanks in advance and great looking site this year! OK, here is the answer from Rallyup.com... Hi Ed, That's a great question! I see that you have chosen for people to buy entries for specific prizes. In this case, the bonus tickets are spread out among the prizes for which entries were purchased. There is an algorithm that weights the distribution of bonus entries depending on the amount of entries purchased. Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks! Leanne Quote
BricksBrotha Posted April 18, 2019 Posted April 18, 2019 56 minutes ago, Ed Mack said: OK, here is the answer from Rallyup.com... Hi Ed, That's a great question! I see that you have chosen for people to buy entries for specific prizes. In this case, the bonus tickets are spread out among the prizes for which entries were purchased. There is an algorithm that weights the distribution of bonus entries depending on the amount of entries purchased. Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks! Leanne Makes sense, thank you for checking! Quote
Pebble&Park Posted April 20, 2019 Posted April 20, 2019 Alright everyone, one month until the close of this thing. I'll break the ice on adding some sweeteners on top of these amazing prizes. I will offer up this - for each raffle winner that has donated at least $100 between ticket purchases and regular donations (in any combination), I will add their choice of any one of the following options to their prize (all are new sealed): - 10259 Winter Village Station - 40289 Mini Harry Potter Diagon Alley - 41624 AND 41625 Mickey and Minnie Brickheadz - 41317 Friends Catamaran - 40334 Mini Avengers Tower - 75227 Vader Bust If the total money raised tops last year's total (just over $40k), I'll give this bonus to all raffle winners, regardless of how much they donated. Get out there and get some tickets! 5 Quote
Ed Mack Posted April 20, 2019 Author Posted April 20, 2019 13 hours ago, Pebble&Park said: Alright everyone, one month until the close of this thing. I'll break the ice on adding some sweeteners on top of these amazing prizes. I will offer up this - for each raffle winner that has donated at least $100 between ticket purchases and regular donations (in any combination), I will add their choice of any one of the following options to their prize (all are new sealed): - 10259 Winter Village Station - 40289 Mini Harry Potter Diagon Alley - 41624 AND 41625 Mickey and Minnie Brickheadz - 41317 Friends Catamaran - 40334 Mini Avengers Tower - 75227 Vader Bust If the total money raised tops last year's total (just over $40k), I'll give this bonus to all raffle winners, regardless of how much they donated. Get out there and get some tickets! That is very generous! Thank you very much! Quote
LisaH Posted April 23, 2019 Posted April 23, 2019 Thank you Ed for extending the raffle and for everyone's generous support ! My son just participated in the TSA competition at TCNJ and all of your support helps to keep programs like this going; we can not thank you all enough!! Next year, the school will be celebrating 150 years and hopefully it will be there for 150 more! One of our retired principals use to say "Have you helped make a difference today?" --- YOU all have helped make a difference in these kids lives! 2 Quote
The Leveller Posted April 27, 2019 Posted April 27, 2019 Just bought a couple of tickets. It's mainly to show my appreciation for this great site. Keep up the good work! 3 Quote
LucySPSMOM Posted May 7, 2019 Posted May 7, 2019 On 4/19/2019 at 9:02 PM, Pebble&Park said: Alright everyone, one month until the close of this thing. I'll break the ice on adding some sweeteners on top of these amazing prizes. I will offer up this - for each raffle winner that has donated at least $100 between ticket purchases and regular donations (in any combination), I will add their choice of any one of the following options to their prize (all are new sealed): - 10259 Winter Village Station - 40289 Mini Harry Potter Diagon Alley - 41624 AND 41625 Mickey and Minnie Brickheadz - 41317 Friends Catamaran - 40334 Mini Avengers Tower - 75227 Vader Bust If the total money raised tops last year's total (just over $40k), I'll give this bonus to all raffle winners, regardless of how much they donated. Get out there and get some tickets! Wow Ed, this is a very generous perk! Thanks for the ongoing support and amazing generosity! Quote
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