Health & Wealth Raffle delivers first ever win for two
Arizona residents

Excitement is in the air as organizers contact the Fall 2009 Health & Wealth Raffle Early Bird Winners. This Early Bird draw is unique in that all winners are participants who have entered several times, but have never received even a small prize. Donald Mendenhall of Glendale and Perry Iler of Green Valley both received phone calls that their wait to win big in the Raffle is over.

Donald won a 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 4matic 4-wheel drive SUV plus $15,000 cash – two days before his 85th birthday.

“I’m on the sunny side of 85,” said Donald, who originally couldn’t believe his luck when he received the call. “Who could believe this? It’s unbelievable, but I survived [the call]. It sounded so good I’d like to have her call again!”

Donald has been entering the Raffle every year for the past 10 Raffles to support St. Joseph’s and Barrow and also because he admits to enjoying the thrill.

“When you put in your $100 or $250, you don’t do it for the expectation of winning,” he says. “You do it for the anticipation that you might win something. The same reason you put coins in a slot machine. But if the Raffle was just about winning prizes, I probably wouldn’t do it. I do it because St. Joseph’s and Barrow are worthwhile institutions. If we can help them a little bit, we will.”

Perry Iler, 75, is also a big winner in the Raffle who says this is the first win ever for his family. Perry won a 7-night cruise for two through Washington State’s wine country plus $25,000 cash.

“We’re still coming out of shock a little bit,” Perry says, “but we look forward to going. We already talked about and planned to do that particular trip in the next few years.”

Perry’s wife, Marilyn, was a former patient at St. Joseph’s where she underwent cataract surgery in 1997. Because of the excellent care she received, the family was driven to enter the Raffle for the past four years.

“St. Joseph’s is an outstanding hospital,” Perry says, “I believe the money went to a good cause, and that’s the primary reason we entered.”

Kathy Rice, executive director of the Health & Wealth Raffle, has the exciting task of calling the big Raffle winners and was thrilled to learn that they were winners for the first time.

“We are so grateful to the many participants who enter the Raffle every single time,” Kathy says. “For these Early Bird winners, it was their turn. Their patience and dedication to St. Joseph’s and Barrow have now paid off.”

About Health & Wealth Raffle

The Health & Wealth Raffle is one of the largest fundraisers for St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center and Barrow Neurological Institute. Since its inception in 2003, the Raffle has served as a unique tool to raise much-needed funds in a short period of time. The biannual Raffle enables the hospital to fund research, community outreach, new equipment and other important projects to improve patient care. To date, more than 89,000 prizes have been awarded to Raffle participants, including 22 homes, 303 trips and more than 330 vehicles. Tickets are $100 and must be purchased in the state, but participants do not have to be residents of Arizona to win. To learn more about the Health & Wealth Raffle or to enter, visit www.HealthWealthRaffle.org.

About St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center and Barrow Neurological Institute

Located in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center is a 690-bed, not-for-profit hospital that provides a wide range of health, social and support services with special advocacy for the poor and underserved. St. Joseph's is a nationally recognized center for quality tertiary care, medical education and research. It includes the internationally renowned Barrow Neurological Institute, the Heart & Lung Institute, St. Joseph's Children's Health Center and the only Trauma Center in the state of Arizona that is verified as a Level I Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons. The hospital is also a respected center for maternity care, orthopedics, oncology and many other medical services. U.S. News and World Report routinely ranks St. Joseph's among the best hospitals in the United States for neurology and neurosurgery and recently listed the hospital as one of the best for respiratory, orthopedic and endocrinology care.