A crowd of 355 people netted an estimated $165,000 Friday at “The Magic of Giving,” the 24th Annual Reverse Raffle at The Commons to benefit the local VIMCare Clinic.
The clinic, located inside Columbus Regional Hospital, helps the clinic’s patients in the state’s HIP 2.0 program, a Medicaid program, or other local residents who are uninsured. The local First Class Catering provided a meal that included everything from braised short ribs to salmon. Icing On the Cake in Nashville provided desserts.
Rebekah Walsh, the Columbus Regional Health Foundation’s director of volunteer services and annual fundraising, said organizers were “super pleased” with both the turnout and the total.
Angela Revell of Columbus won the $10,000 prize for being the last person standing as raffle numbers were called to gradually eliminate participants.
VIMCare, formerly Volunteers In Medicine, opened in 1996 as a solution to a critical lack of access to primary health care for low-income, uninsured Bartholomew County residents. The clinic is located in the hospital’s former emergency department.
Services range from acute primary care to medication assistance. Money raised at the gathering comes from corporate, business and private sponsorships, general event tickets and raffle tickets, organizers say.
Illusionist Jared Sherlock of Minneapolis, Minnesota, served as the evening’s entertainment. Next year’s Reverse Raffle is scheduled Nov. 13.
The foundation always accepts donations for the clinic’s work at support.foundation.crh.org.
