The 2014 raffle’s early bird prize of $25,000 was won by 10-year Eagles member David Luxton. Upon receiving the news, Mr Luxton, who purchased 20 tickets for this year’s raffle, knew straight away he wanted to donate the money.
Mr Luxton and his wife Janice had recently returned from a trip to Rwanda and Ethiopia with child development and advocacy charity Compassion.
West Coast Eagles consumer strategy manager Leigh Jeffery contacted Dave about his prize the day after he returned from his trip.
“While he was completely blown away that he’d won, he immediately thought of the people he’d just met on his travels and wanted to help them out with his winnings,” Ms Jeffery said.
“I’ve had the pleasure of calling many raffle winners over the years, and Dave’s response was by far the most extraordinary. His generosity immediately touched the hearts of everyone at the club.”
The Luxtons already sponsor 34 children in different countries through Compassion, and the extreme poverty they witnessed in Ethiopia prompted their wish to give back even more.
One particular town stuck with the Luxtons, which sees residents lining up in the middle of the night to receive small amounts of clean drinking water as those few hours were the only time the pumps were powered to service the town’s 50,000 population.
It was this level of poverty that left Dave and Janice keen to see permanent change within the region, and after witnessing first-hand the effectiveness of Compassion’s programs, they decided to donate their early bird prize money to the charity so they could purchase a generator for this town, or one like it.
$22,000 is required to purchase a generator, meaning the prize money won by Mr Luxton should cover the entire project, which will undoubtedly have a massive impact on the community that receives it.
A massive West Coast fan, Mr Luxton initially planned the Africa trip around the season fixture, (even heading to the airport straight from the club’s round 16 match against Sydney), and is a big supporter of the club’s community efforts.
The Eagles in the Community programs are committed to enriching the lives of the Western Australian community by utilising the club’s profile to educate, support, motivate and inspire people to lead a well-balanced life and reach their potential.
The club’s signature community program, Eagles Rock My School, is a two-part program run by former players and professional educators, and is delivered at no cost to over 1,200 schools thanks to people like Mr Luxton participating in the Eagles in the Community Raffle.
While the early bird prize has been drawn with fantastic results, the raffle is still open until October 24, to be drawn on October 29.
Tickets are only $10 and the grand prize is a choice between a Toyota GT86 and Corolla Package or a Toyota Kluger.
For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit westcoasteagles.com.au/raffle.
