MANSFIELD — A new car with a decent price tag is hard to come by these days.
But one lucky winner could receive the keys to a new 2024 Chevy Trax for as little as $30 this spring.
Graham Chevrolet and United Way of Richland County announced the fourth annual Win a Chevy fundraiser Monday. The two agencies will raffle off the cayenne orange SUV on March 1, 2024.
All proceeds will benefit the United Way of Richland County.
Sales representative Joel Foss called the newly-designed Trax model one of the hottest cars on the market. It currently retails for $23,840.
Assuming all tickets sell, the fundraiser will generate between $20,000 and $30,000 for United Way.
“We just want to thank Graham Chevrolet,” said United Way executive director Dan Varn. “We are so appreciative of this level of support for the county.”
One thousand raffle tickets are available for purchase here. Tickets cost $30 each or $100 for five.
“I grew up watching The Price is Right with my grandmother and I fell like we’re in a version of that,” said Brandon Hall, chair of United Way’s 2023-2024 fundraising campaign.
“The price is definitely right thanks to Ken (Williams) and Graham Automall.”
Williams, vice president of Graham Automall, said partnering with United Way for the last four years has been rewarding.
“We’ve had some great stories of the winners in the past,” he said. “Most of the time it’s gone to somebody who really needs it and that’s important to me.”
Last year’s winner was Ashley Leadingham, a single mother who purchased just one ticket. Two years ago, a house cleaner and mother of four named Shawauna Smith won.
Both women told reporters they’d never owned a new car and were facing expensive auto repairs at the time they’d won.
“Every year we’ve had just a fantastic story of somebody that was so generous to support us in this and at the same time, they were facing a need for a car,” Varn said.
According to Varn, United Way of Richland County supports 44 programs and 14 agencies across Richland County. All of them fall into one of four categories — health services, emergency services, family services or youth development.
United Way also runs a literacy program called the Big Red Bookshelf and is in its second year partnering with Mansfield City Schools for an attendance-boosting initiative.
All in all, Varn estimates the organization will put about $1 million back into the community in 2023.
