KENT—The sexy metallic silver Porsche convertible with its blue top and hard back window will not be seen on the streets of Kent following the raffle drawing last Sunday at the Kent Memorial Library.
The car was won by Rebecca Edelman of Rockville, MD, one of the many persons who purchased raffle tickets online through oldcarraffle.com, according to Library Director Sarah Marshall.
The car, which had 250HP 3.2L 6 cylinder engine, has only 21,300 miles on its odometer. “We have quite a few sales online,” said Marshall, “so our sales area is really the United States now. People love that site, which does absolutely improve our sales. We’ve been doing that for the past four or five years.”
As the date for the drawing comes nearer, the listing on the website moves higher and becomes more visible for ticket holders. “Our sales were through the roof in the last two weeks,” she said.
No exact figures are yet available, but she said the raffle, a major fundraiser, usually yields between $20,000 and $30,000. “This year we are closer to $30,000,” she predicted.
Proceeds go to support the library’s operating budget and make an important contribution since the library is responsible for raising more than 70 percent of its annual budget. This year, the library added a second prize of two electric bikes and they were won by Diane Impastato of Kent. “It’s the first year we have done that,” said Marshall. “We thought it would be a nice thing, since we were raffling off a car that uses gasoline, to offer two electric bikes.”
With the 2023 raffle out of the way, the committee of volunteers that selects the 2024 car will soon be back at work. “The committee spends the fall and winter researching the car sale sites and eventually decides on what we will buy. The difference between the purchase price and how many tickets we sell is our profit,” Marshall explained. Tickets are only $25 each. The bottom line would be even sweeter if a car were donated. “If anyone has car in great shape that they would donate, we would love it,” she said.
