With the proceeds of a mega-raffle—one that includes four vehicles donated by Audubon Chrysler Center—local officials involved in the mission of drug and alcohol recovery will renovate a building on First Street for use as a men’s transition home.
More than the vehicles, raffle ticket holders will also have a chance to win Blackstone grills, 65-inch televisions and $30,000 cash, said Carrie Gentry, the director of the Stop The Overdose Project and manager of the Recovery Resource Club of Henderson, which is located just next door to the building that will be renovated.
The building at 435 First Street already has a sign out front with its name on it: “Men’s Unity Lodge.”
Gentry said that when renovations are complete 14 men will live there, many Hendersonians who have just completed programs in Bowling Green at the Men’s Addiction Recovery Center, which is under the same leadership umbrella as the local Women’s Addiction Resource Manor and RRCH.
Gentry said many of the Hendersonians who go to MARC want to come back home to be near family. But many are afraid of returning to their hometown and attempting to re-enter society because in the past “re-entry meant relapsing.”
The Men’s Unity Lodge will add an extra buffer for men who’ve completed a recovery program, and in that space, they will “learn to do life sober,” Gentry said.
That includes life skills such as budgeting and managing money. “For many, they’ve never had that,” Gentry said.
But they’ll also practice how to deal with people, including how to properly process emotions and feelings. She added that the men in the lodge will also form bonds of brotherhood that they can use for support while they’re living there and later on, when they are out on their own.
The building contains four bedrooms, a kitchen, a half bathroom, full bathroom and an open space where currently Narcotics Anonymous meetings are held. Gentry didn’t have specifics about the details of the renovation, only that the building will need to be changed so that 14 men will be able to live there. That probably means making bathrooms bigger, adding an oven range to the kitchen, and a fit to the bedrooms for all the beds, she said.
The space where NA meetings currently are held in the building will move to a smaller building in the back yard where the former building of SNIPZ was located. That building is also being renovated, Gentry said.
Dale Sights, the president and CEO of WARM, said his wife, Margaret Ann, is overseeing the building’s renovation and expects it to be complete in about six months.
Drive To Recovery
They’re calling the raffle the “Drive To Recovery” fundraiser, a nod to the four vehicles that are being donated by Audubon Chrysler Center and owner Larry Bennett. The vehicles are:
- 2024 Jeep Compass Altitude 4×4
- 2023 Jeep Wrangler Willy’s 4×4
- 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 4×4
- 2023 Grand Wagoneer Series II 4×4
A quick web search turns up the combined price of the four vehicles to be well over $100,000.
But the raffle has more chances to win. There will also be drawings that will allow 100 winning ticket holders the choice of either a Blackstone Griddle or a 65-inch television.
Finally, there’s a chance for one person to win a $30,000 cash prize.
The price of one ticket: $25.
Raffle ticket sales began on Monday and will continue till midnight Dec. 31, said Sarah Nicholson, the executive administrative assistant at WARM who oversees sales for the event.
Currently, tickets can be bought through a QR code or on the Facebook page of RRCH, where there is an advertisement for the raffle. (The QR code and advertisement is placed at the end of this article.)
Nicholson said the idea gained traction quickly and because of that, not all the locations where officials will set up have been determined. She did say, though, that people should look for tables or other marketing materials around Henderson, Evansville and Bowling Green.
Nicholson said the hope is to sell 10,000 tickets; Gentry didn’t put a number on it, but only as many as possible.
All prizes have been donated by Bennett, said Sights, who called Bennett a dear friend who “cares so much for our mission.”
Sights said that Bennett has given WARM 17 cars over the years, three or four for company vehicles and the rest that have been given to center alumni at summer picnics.
Additionally, Bennett has given hundreds of vehicles to causes around the tri-state through the years, Sights said.
“He’s just an incredibly generous human being,” Sights said.
According to information Nicholson sent to the Hendersonian:
The first drawing date at Audubon Chrysler will be Jan. 4.
- On this day, 100 tickets will be drawn to win the choice of a 65-inch television or Blackstone Griddle. Plus 20 additional tickets will be drawn to be one of 20 finalists for vehicles and a cash prize. Winners and finalists will be notified via email and phone.
The final drawing date at Audubon Chrysler will be Jan. 11.
- Of the 20 finalists, 5 will be drawn to win the vehicles or $30,000 cash prize.
