Fayette County Christmas tree raffle raises thousands of dollars for American Cancer Society
UNIONTOWN, Pa. (KDKA) — As we quickly approach the holidays, many are beginning to take their fall decorations down to swap them out for Christmas. And what better way to get in the holiday spirit than with a new Christmas tree?
A group in Fayette County is keeping its tradition alive by offering you a chance to win a brand-new Christmas tree for just $2. And it's all for a good cause.
Stuffed from one side of the room to the other in the old Rue 21 store at the Uniontown Mall are 130 brand-new fully decorated artificial Christmas trees ready to be raffled off this holiday season.
"People really love it. They come here, it's become a tradition with some families," said Sherry Maczko.
Maczko and her daughter started the Deck the Mall tree raffle seven years ago as a way to raise money for their Relay for Life team, called "Too Inspired to be Tired." Maczko said her brother died in 2016 of multiple myeloma and she had other loved ones with cancer.
"We started a team years ago because our family members had cancer and friends, and we just wanted to do something to help raise money," said Maczko.
They say every dollar raised from the raffle goes toward fighting cancer through the American Cancer Society.
"Seven years ago, we started with 18 trees and we raised $8,000, and last year we had 104 trees and we raised $39,100," Maczko said.
"It's just amazing to see Fayette County, how many people come out for this event every year, and every year it just grows and grows and grows," said Ed Kustron, who is on the Too Inspired to be Tired relay team.
As each year goes on, Maczko says each tree donated has a story behind it.
"It's either they're a business and they want to help, or they have a family member that has passed, or they've had cancer, or they're fighting cancer, but basically, every tree has a story, and it's really emotional when you're in here," Maczko said.
Fayette County has been in Relay for Life for 31 years now. Kustron says he and Maczko started it in Fayette County and they're still with it. Kustron says he lost both his dad and mom to cancer.
The trees, each with their own theme, come with all the ornaments, ribbons and bows, even the tree skirt, and gifts under the tree.
"We have one person or family that comes up from North Carolina. We have another family that comes from Maryland. Some people do one tree. We have one person that their family did four trees," Maczko said.
Raffle tickets for a chance to win are $2 a ticket, with a special deal this weekend.
"And coming this Friday, Black Friday and Saturday, if you buy two tickets, you get one free," Kustron said.
The raffle will run through Dec. 14 around 3:30 p.m. You can watch the live drawing in the store or on their Facebook page, Relay for Life Fayette County.