The Noah and Rowan Benson Gately Support Group have announced that the winagolf.ie car raffle that was scheduled to take place at the showrooms of Michael Moore Car Sales has been postponed following the imposition of level five restrictions by the Government.
The 5km limit on non-emergency travel made it impossible for family and committee members to attend the event, so a new date for the draw will be unveiled once there is greater clarity on when the country will move out of the present restrictions imposed.
A statement from the Support Group committee was recently released detailing the decision to postpone the fundraising initiative draw.
“It is with great regret that the committee of the Noah and Rowan Benson Gately Support Group have decided that the winagolf.ie car raffle will be postponed due to public health concerns linked to the coronavirus pandemic, and under advice from NPHET.
“All ticket sales have now ceased and all entries will remain valid until Government and public health advice deem it safe for the draw to take place.
“The support group will not receive any financial gain from this postponement as tickets purchased prior to the January 2 deadline at 11.59 pm will be the only ticket entries to the rescheduled draw. No additional tickets will be sold for the rescheduled draw date.
“Uppermost in our mind has been the health and safety of all of those who come together to make this draw and our fundraising efforts happen – our volunteers and the broader community have a responsibility to society’s efforts to tackle this global challenge to our way of life.
“Since the emergence of the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020, we have followed guidance from the Irish Government and NPHET in relation to our activities. Following a series of detailed deliberations, it is the committee’s view that the postponement of the draw is the best decision in the interests of public health.
“We appreciate that the postponement of the draw will come as a huge disappointment to many invested in the draw through the purchase of tickets, to our sellers, volunteers and committee members. However, no matter how disappointed we are about the postponement, we are also mindful that there are now more significant health risk issues at stake than the staging of the car raffle at this point in time.
“In this context, it is our hope that all concerned will understand our decision. The support group will not re-open tickets sales prior to the rescheduled draw date and all entries will remain valid. Therefore, as a group we do not have any financial gain from the postponement of the draw at this stage. This decision is purely based on public health advice and in response to the tightened government restrictions announced this week.
“I would like to sincerely thank all those who have bought tickets, our sponsors, our ticket sellers, our hard-working committee and all who have helped the committee with the organisation of the draw and we look forward to hosting the rescheduled draw as soon as physically possible.
“We would also like to sincerely thank our winagolf.ie main sponsor, DPD for their generous contribution,” the statement concluded.
