A Barrie man is making plans to buy a new truck after taking home the jackpot prize of $342,745 in the RVH Auxiliary Community 50/50 November draw. Nathan Dekleyne, a stone mason, said he was working at a site in Stouffville when he found out he was the jackpot winner. “I was working with the boys ... I was working up on the scaffolding and I just got the call, the next thing you know, I found out that I won,” he said. “I was super grateful, super happy.” Dekleyne started purchasing tickets for the monthly draw two years ago, and shared that his mother was a nurse at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) for over 30 years. “She used to play when it was just a staff lottery, so I just decided I wanted to keep going with that,” he said. He said his mother became very emotional when he told her the news of his win. “She started crying and calling all of her friends.” Dekleyne is also planning to invest and put some of his prize money away for retirement. “I just can’t believe it,” he said of his win. The Auxiliary uses proceeds from the lottery and other fundraising activities to enhance health care services in Barrie and the surrounding area. “We are extremely proud to say that, since the inception of the Auxiliary in 1897, millions of dollars have been raised to support patient care,” the RVH Auxiliary states on its website. “Our Auxiliary is currently working on raising $2.5 million for a third MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) which will greatly improve the lives of our patients.” The Auxiliary, a not-for-profit organization, said it recently completing its pledge to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The next RVH Auxiliary 50/50 draw will run for eight weeks, with the jackpot prize happening on January 28. Tickets are available online, and at 201 Georgian Drive, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Lotto Booth location, at the Georgian Mall Community Services Kiosk on Saturday Dec. 13 and Sat. Jan. 10, and Mayes Martin Ltd, at 150 Vespra Street in Barrie, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased at various convenience stores across the city.
