Community Action Marin 6th Annual Dream Home Raffle

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., July 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Raffle ticket sales will officially begin at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, July 1^st, 2013. Community Action Marin's 6^th annual Dream House Raffle is the Bay Area's first and longest running house raffle. This spectacular 2 million dollar "Dream Home" situated on San Francisco Bay in Marin County, or a 1.5 million dollar alternative cash prize is the grand prize in this unique fundraising event. Over $300,000.00 in additional cash prizes will also be given away once again. Previews of the CAM Dream Home Raffle web-site may be viewed by logging on to our raffle site at http://www.marinraffle.com. Under "Press" on the navigation bar, view downlodable photos of the house, take a virtual tour, view downlodable B-Roll, and link to Community Action Marin's official web-page.

All proceeds from ticket sales benefit Community Action Marin (CAM), one of Northern California's oldest and largest private social service providers, in their ongoing support of individuals, families and children most in need in Marin County.

About The Raffle:

• CAM Dream House raffle is the first, and longest running house raffle in the Bay Area
• Over 8 million dollars in prizes have been given away over the first 5 Dream Home Raffles, mostly in the S.F. Bay Area, stimulating our local economy and providing life changing experiences for over 1600 winners!
• CAM conducts the most successful non-profit house raffle in the United States in total ticket sales and gross receipts.
• CAM house raffle has been featured in national media for its innovative approach to non-profit fundraising.
• Odds of winning grand prize is 35k to 1, making it one of the nation's most "odds friendly" million $ plus raffle
• Over $300,000 dollars in additional cash prizes will be given away for the 5^th consecutive year.
• 4 "Earl Bird Drawings" will give $25k, $10k, and $5k to those who enter before early bird deadlines
• Raffle is sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank, Comcast, and the San Francisco Examiner.

About Community Action Marin:
Community Action Marin is a private, non-profit, 501(c)(3) social service agency serving and assisting Marin residents in achieving a life of quality based on self-sufficiency. Continually serving Marin County since 1966, the agency currently operates 15 programs at 24 sites county wide covering a variety of needs for low income individuals, children, senior citizens, and those impacted by the economic crisis. CAM's mission is to move individuals from poverty to self-sufficiency, promote the care of those who are unable to provide for themselves, and offer opportunity and assistance to all those in need. Community Action Marin is guided by a Board of Directors representing the private, public, and consumer sectors, and an Executive Director who has been in place since Community Action Marin's inception in 1966.

• Established in 1966, CAM is one of Northern California's oldest and largest provider of social service and family support programs
• Continuously serves as Marin County's official "anti poverty agency", as designated by the Marin County Board of Supervisors for over 45 years
• Operates 15 programs at 24 sites throughout the county
• Programs include: Marin Head Start (7 Centers), Early Childhood Development (7 Centers), Children's Food Programs, Mental Health Services, Energy Assistance, Emergency Family Needs Programs, Spark-Point Financial Literacy Center, Employment and Job Training Programs, cultural programs and much more.
• Over 3 thousand individuals and families served each day
• Over 250,000 individuals, families, and children served since 1966

Media Attraction: In the worst economic recession since the great depression of the 1930's California has seen double digit unemployment, a budget crisis unparalleled in our States history, and an ever increasing need for social safety-net services. To meet this ongoing need, Community Action Marin embarked on a unique method of fundraising in 2007 that would insure that services would remain available to the community, and their future would be guaranteed. Historically serving low income families and those with economic and social disadvantages, CAM has seen a 30% increase in the demand for services over the past several years while watching our government slowly dismantle funding for much needed support programs. Individuals and families who normally volunteered or donated to Community Action Marin now seek assistance at an alarming rate. With the availability of government resources rapidly dwindling, these individuals now look to agencies like CAM to provide basic life necessities. Even in a county known for its affluence, food, housing, employment opportunities, and basic necessities have become a daily challenge for many in Marin County. "Our mission is, and has been, to move people from poverty to self sufficiency," said Russ Hamel, Director of Development and orchestrator of the Dream House Raffle. "We believe in that philosophy for our clients, and we follow that philosophy in our agency... though we'll always need the assistance of our community and state leaders, we needed to find a way where we weren't hamstrung by the availability of government funds... we wanted to become self-sufficient ourselves." The dream house raffle has provided millions in much needed funding, at a much needed time in CAM's history. "This is about much more than a raffle prize," said Gail Theller, Executive Director of CAM since 1978, "it's an opportunity for us to help our neighbors without increasing taxes or being a burden on our current state economy... and having provided services to thousands in our most vulnerable populations as the result of the raffle, not to mention the millions of dollars we've put back into our economy in operation and prize money, we've been successful at doing just that."

With a number of house raffles happening in the greater bay area since CAM began the trend in 2007, most unsuccessful, CAM remains the most innovative and constant house raffle in the Bay Area. "You know the prizes will be there, you know the integrity of the agency is firmly in place, and you know where the proceeds go...  at the end of the day, everyone is a winner in our Dream House Raffle," said Russ Hamel.   

For more information on Community Action Marin visit their web-site at www.camarin.org

SOURCE Community Action Marin