September 5, 2014 at 1:54 p.m.
Kids In Need wins Rhinelander Toyota Community Chance Giveaway
Kids In Need wins Rhinelander Toyota Community Chance Giveaway
By Kayla Thomason-
As the contest deadline neared Wednesday evening, officials at Kids In Need crowded around the computer to count the five contestants' Facebook "likes" to see who would receive the donation. Rhinelander Toyota advertised the contest on its website and asked the public to vote for the winner using "likes."
Kids In Need won the contest with 1,200 "likes." Hodag Water Shows was second with 1,000.
"It was a tough one," said Tammy Ellis, program director at Kids in Need. "We were very excited to win because we really thought we might lose."
Kids in Need will use the donation to pay a part-time employee to work more hours.
Any leftover money will be put toward food costs.
The winnings will benefit approximately 100 children throughout the year.
"I would like to say a huge 'thank you' to Rhinelander Toyota for hosting the contest, it's awesome of them. And I would like to say congratulations to the other four organizations that made the top five, and I would hope that everyone would consider making a small donation to them," Ellis said.
The total "likes" for all five nonprofits were 3,469. Rhinelander Toyota's original post received 31,900 "likes."
"It's really great to see how the community has really pulled together to help a great program in Rhinelander that is amazing for the kids in the area," said Jo Hettwer, digital marketing coordinator at Rhinelander Toyota. "Part of our goal was to bring awareness for all of these groups so that regardless of whether or not they won that all of these groups would have had the ability to get their message and their information out there so that more people would see and I think it really did that."
This contest made Hettwer aware of what Kids In Need does, how many children it helps and how important it is to the community.
"To see that now, that there's a place for kids to go and keep them out of trouble and help them with their homework, who can you think of as being more deserving than to help them expand their programming?" Hettwer said.
Hettwer noted that contest will likely be held again next year, although it may be revamped.
Rhinelander Toyota will give the organization $2,500 and that amount will be matched by its corporate parent.
The five non-profit organizations vying for the $5,000 were Kids In Need, Hodag Water Shows, Redeemer Learning Center in Tomahawk, Tri-County Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault - Lily's House and Ministry Hospice.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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