This year's '50/50 For Change' has its winner!

That would be Shauna Cuthbert, who had her winning ticket pulled today by Rebecca Anderson of the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre. 

The big draw was made in the front lobby of Golden West Broadcasting, where Magic 97.1's Colin Powers joined Anderson for the grand prize pull. 

Cuthbert received $8,625, splitting a total prize pool of $17,250 with the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre, which was this year's 50/50 beneficiary. 

Shauna CuthbertShauna Cuthbert

She was stunned to have won, having just purchased her tickets earlier the same day.

"It feels really crazy, really exciting," said Cuthbert. "Happy to help out a good cause and happy that we got to benefit a little bit as well."

This year's 50/50 was close to setting a new record, coming up just shy of the mark. All the money from the remaining split will be used by the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre to fund additional programming that is just out of reach of their regular budget. A big program of theirs that needed funding to begin is their 'Language Explorers Club', through which they teach children English language basics and skills through fun and engaging activities. 

Colin Powers and Rebecca Anderson maiing the call to Shauna Cuthbert, letting her know she won.Colin Powers and Rebecca Anderson maiking the call to Shauna Cuthbert, letting her know she had won.

Tatiana McGuigan, who recently joined up with the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre this week, is thrilled to see so much support for them in her first week.

"For sure, because I am an immigrant myself here," said McGuigan. "Now that I'm a part of the team, it's very nice to see that quite a few people care." 

A big part of this fundraiser is of course the community, who buy the tickets, and the sponsors, who allow 50/50 For Change to borrow their venues for ticket sales and live-on-location broadcasts. Their contributions are a major player in making these campaigns a success each year in Swift Current. Their continued support is a big part of ensuring that local non-profits are able to join up with the team, and earn some extra money for their projects.

A big thank you to this year's sponsors:

  • Canadian Tire 
  • Akhlut Automotive 
  • B&A Petroleum 
  • Dewalt Windshield 
  • MacMor Industries 
  • Swift Current Ag & Ex 
  • Little Something Boutique 
  • CSN Klassen 
  • With Love Collection 
  • Garden of Eden 
  • CMX Powersports 
  • Sentiments: Home & Design 
  • Dufresne 
  • Sign Here Signs 
  • Optical Image  
  • Voths Brandsource 

 

Local radio always strives to bring the community together, with music, entertainment, news, and projects like this. For those that work on them, nothing is better than seeing such a large outcome for the parties involved.

Morgan Butler, general manager at Golden West Broadcasting, was happy for Cuthbert and her lucky win and grateful for everyone who helped with this year's event.

"We are super happy to have partnered with the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre this year," said Butler. "They're such a great partner and I just want to give a huge thanks to all of our sponsors who came on board and helped make this possible and made this year such a success."