HAMILTON — Two Butler County high schools are selling $85 fund-raising raffle tickets for a chance to win houses this spring.

        Both Middletown and Hamilton high schools have 6,000 raffle tickets each for a chance to win a custom-built home valued at up to $210,000 (or cash). Odds in each raffle of winning the house are 6,000-to-1 if all tickets are sold.

BUY A TICKET

• To buy raffle tickets in Middletown:     Send an $85 check made out to Middletown Athletics to P.O. Box 44823, Middletown, OH 45044. Call (877) 258-9502 to use a credit card, or log on to the district's Web site and click on house raffle on the right.     • To buy raffle tickets in Hamilton:     Send an $85 check made out to the Hamilton High School Booster Club Inc. to Hamilton House Raffle, P.O. Box 13377, Hamilton, OH 45013, or to charge by telephone, call (877) 258-9466.

        Each district also has another 123 prizes ranging from $125 to $10,000. Each district is offering $40,000 in secondary prizes.

        Odds of winning a prize in either district are 1-in-49 if all tickets are sold. Drawing for the grand prize is April 25 in Hamilton and May 10 in Middletown, organizers said.

        “The objective is to keep the kids on the practice field or studying their books,” said Dave Oldham, marketing director for Middletown's athletic department. “We don't want them going door-to-door selling things. They need a chance to be kids.”

        Although this is the first time either school has tried such a project, it has been successful elsewhere, Mr. Oldham said. In Warren County, Mason High School raised $62,000, he said.

        Those grand-prize winners opting for the house will receive one about 2,300 square feet. In Hamilton, it will be built by Oaktree Homes in the Governor's Hill development. Fishbaugh Homes will construct the home in the Oaks Community in Middletown.

        In Middletown, the athletic department is sponsoring the raffle, with proceeds going to middle and senior high school programs. Fourteen projects totaling $105,300 have been identified as uses for the proceeds. Included on the list are uniforms, practice gear, salaries, seminars and clinics for coaches, banquets and video cameras.

        The list also includes tutoring software and support for the Academic Game Plan, a program that helps athletes improve and maintain their grades to stay eligible, Mr. Oldham said.

        Hamilton's raffle is sponsored by the Boosters, which support academic and athletic programs at Hamilton High, said Anna Harvey, Boosters president.

        “We haven't yet decided what we want to spend the money on,” she said.
       

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