Less than two months ago, the communities of Central Vermont were devastated by flash flooding. Despite recent hot and dry weather, members of those communities have not forgotten the destruction wrought by those storms. To support the relief efforts of the American Red Cross, who has been at the heart of the flood recovery, the Berlin Mall held a fundraising raffle. Yesterday, the winners were awarded their prizes and the Red Cross received over $3,000.00.The owners and management of the Berlin Mall saw the impact of the May 26th storm and decided there was something they could do to help. “Once the streets are clean it’s easy for the rest of us to just forget about the damage, but there are still people hurting out there,” said Mall Manager Gerry Hanifan. “People affected by the flood are members of Berlin Mall’s community, so we decided to help,” he added.
Over a ten day period, raffle tickets were sold at Bath and Body Works, the mall’s management office and by Red Cross volunteers from the Central Vermont/New Hampshire Valley Chapter. Yesterday, the two winning tickets were drawn, with the first prize being a $500.00 shopping spree at the mall and the second prize being $450.00 in merchandise and gift cards donated by many of the stores within the mall.
Just over $1,500.00 in $1 raffle tickets were sold. In addition to the Berlin Mall and its stores, the raffle was supported by local radio stations FRANK FM and FROGGY 92, part of Nassau Broadcasting. Both stations also broadcast live from the Berlin Mall yesterday to capture the final hour of the raffle.
At yesterday’s drawing, the owners of the Berlin Mall, Lerner Heidenberg Properties, represented by owners Robert Heidenberg and Ken Simon, announced that they would match the $1,500 raised through the raffle, bringing the grand total to over $3,000.00. (Pictured above, from left to right, are Ronnie Ruby and Ken Simon of Lerner Heidenberg property, Barre Mayor Thomas Lauzon, TJ Michaels of FRANK-FM and Larry Crist, Regional Executive for the Vermont & the New Hampshire Valley American Red Cross.)
“The Red Cross can provide disaster relief because of wonderful partners like the Berlin Mall and the generosity of giving individuals,” said Larry Crist, Regional Executive for the Vermont & the New Hampshire Valley American Red Cross. “To see a community so devastated by flooding rally like this is truly remarkable,” Crist added.
