Major Event, Raffle Packages To Benefit Cricket Center

Major Event, Raffle Packages To Benefit Cricket Center
The raffle winners of the “Sand or Sound” grand prize drawing will be chosen on Oct. 25. Tickets are still available. Submitted Photo

OCEAN CITY – Worcester County’s only child advocacy center will hold its second annual cocktail party fundraiser at The Hobbit on Oct. 25 in an effort to raise funds for child abuse awareness, prevention and support services.

This year’s fundraiser will be from 6-9 p.m. at The Hobbit in Ocean City and will feature heavy hor d’oeuvres, a cash bar, live and silent auctions, music by Blind Wind and Perpetual Commotion, and a “Sand or Sound Raffle” drawing.

Money raised from the event will benefit the Cricket Center, a location that offers abused children a safe and welcoming environment where authorities can conduct interviews, medical exams and mental health evaluations.

Wendy Myers, executive director of the Cricket Center, said money raised from the community goes to help victims of child abuse.

“It’s our largest fundraiser of the year,” she said. “Everything we make from that goes to our services.”

Myers said the Cricket Center works with local health and law enforcement agencies to conduct forensic interviews, offer medical and mental health treatment and prosecute offenders. Since 2009, more than 800 children have passed through the Cricket Center’s doors and perpetrators have received 1,000 cumulative years of jail time.

“We depend greatly on our community for fundraising,” she said. “It’s a big piece of the puzzle … They always come through for us.”

Patty Falck, chair of the Cricket Center’s foundation, said this will be the nonprofit’s first year hosting a “Sand or Sound Raffle” fundraiser in conjunction with the cocktail party.

“We haven’t done this before,” she said. “We wanted to do something that would get people excited and have them happy and willing to support the Cricket Center.”

Individuals who purchase “Sand or Sound Raffle” tickets can choose between two prize trips upon entering the raffle.

The “Sand” prize is a five-day trip for two people to the Green Turtle Club Resort and Marina in Abaco, Bahamas. In addition to the resort stay, winners will also be given a $1,000 airfare card.

The “Sound” prize is a two-night “Private Experience” for two people in Nashville, Tenn. Winners will receive a $500 Hilton hotel card, a $500 Southwest Airlines card, two $100 gift certificates to Nashville restaurants, two tickets to both The Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as a private music studio visit.

Falck said donations for the “Sand” trip were provided by the Showell family, who owns both Castle in the Sand and the Green Turtle Club Resort and Marina, and four Berlin retail stores – TaDa, The Treasure Chest, Stuarts’ Antiques and Bruder Hill.

Donations for the “Sound” trip were provided by Chris Farren, president of Combustion Music in Nashville.

Falck said the two drawings will take place at the fundraiser on Oct. 25. Participants of the raffle do not need to be present to win.

For more information on the Cricket Center and its fundraisers, or to purchase raffle and cocktail party tickets, visit thecricketcenter.com. Tickets for the cocktail party will be on sale for $65. Raffle tickets are $20 a chance or $100 for six chances.

Falck said both the cocktail party and the “Sand or Sound Raffle” fundraiser offer a fun way for individuals to support a cause. She encouraged individuals to purchase tickets.

“I hope and imagine we will be sold out,” she said.

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

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Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.