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HealthNet raffle sure to get your goat

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Photo by Dan Lassiter

Jean Randles, executive director of HealthNet of Rock County, cuddles a month-old pair of goats outside the HealthNet Dental Clinic at Creston Park in Janesville.

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Nicole Opie

JANESVILLE — Has your friend, neighbor, relative or co-worker been getting your goat?

HealthNet of Rock County is offering payback.

For $5 a ticket, people can enter friends, family members or co-workers into a raffle to win a goat. There's no limit on how many raffle tickets people can buy.

Those entered into the fundraiser will receive a letter or an email to let them know they have a chance to win a goat.

If they don't want a goat, they can buy protection—goat insurance—for $15, which also allows them to enter three others into the raffle.

It was board member Jan Witt's idea.

"I did a Google search under unique, light-hearted fundraising ideas," she said.

She presented the idea at a board meeting.

"I wasn't doing a good job of explaining it and wanted to resign after that meeting," Witt said.

But HealthNet's marketing committee later saw the idea's potential and decided to go with it.

"We are faced like every other nonprofit to put on a big fundraising event, but we wanted a fundraiser that would do it's own work once we got the ball rolling," Witt said.

HealthNet volunteer Nicole Opie of Beloit raises goats and is donating the grand prize—an adult French alpine goat.

"I have to rotate my herd every year, so I'd rather have my goat go as a pet than to the market. It's good livestock. They're very playful and mischievous," Opie said.

The goat raffle "is a fun, fresh idea that also is inexpensive," said Jean Randles, HealthNet executive director.

The drawing will be Friday, Aug. 3. The winner will have a goat delivered to his or her doorstep shortly after.

HealthNet provides primary health and dental care to uninsured, low-income residents of Rock County.

The goal is to raise $7,000 to help pay for renovation of the HealthNet dental clinic at 1344 Creston Park Drive. Renovation has been estimated at $46,000. So far, $33,000 has been raised, Randles said.

Any money raised over the $7,000 will be put into HealthNet's general operating fund, Randles said.

One week into the raffle, more than $400 had been raised.