Winnipeg, MB – July 2025 — One month into Jewish Child and Family Service (JCFS) Winnipeg’s Second Annual JCFS Summer Sweepstakes 50/50 Raffle for Mental Wellness, support continues to grow. Following last year’s impressive $26,000 jackpot, the community is once again stepping up to support culturally grounded mental health and addictions care across Winnipeg and Manitoba.
With half the jackpot going to one lucky winner and the other half directly funding JCFS programs, the raffle is more than a game—it’s a movement for healing. Ticket sales are open online through Rafflebox until August 28.
“The raffle last year was so exciting! We had tickets bought from residents of Winnipeg, Gimli, Brandon, and beyond,” says Al Benarroch, JCFS President and CEO. “From feedback, we recognized that we needed to turn this initiative into an annual event. Mental wellness matters more than ever..”
JCFS’s geared-to-income Counselling Program—open to both the general public and members of the Jewish community—is projected to deliver 1,598 therapy sessions (virtual and in-person) by July 2025 (starting July 2024), along with facilitating special groups – like this summer’s Mindful Movements.
JCFS also offers community mental wellness workshops open to all, such as The Psychology of Money (offered in May).
JCFS’s specialized Mental Health and Addictions Services, including intensive case management, specialized work like Aging Mental Health and Youth Mental Health, community consults, advocacy supports, Serenity Shabbat, and the Hashivenu Jewish Recovery Group, are designed specifically for the Jewish community who benefit from care in a culturally safe setting.
“Our Counselling and Mental Health & Addictions teams provide support to more than 500 individuals per year,” says Benarroch. “We are grateful for ongoing financial support from the WRHA, Jewish Federation of Manitoba, United Way Winnipeg, and other generous grantors and donors. But in a post-COVID world, with stressors from the cost-of-living crisis, rising antisemitism and the ongoing conflict in Israel, that support doesn’t meet the full need. This raffle is just one way we can all help close the gap and ensure people get the care they deserve.”
JCFS encourages anyone in need of confidential counselling, mental health or addiction support to reach out. Help is available—and you are not alone. Just call JCFS at 204-477-7430 to learn more.
Rooted in the Jewish values of tikkun olam (repairing the world) and pikuach nefesh (preserving life), JCFS ensures support is there for those who need help. JCFS is strengthening lives in keeping with Jewish values.
To get your raffle ticket today, Visit http://www.rafflebox.ca/raffle/2025. Please note that you must be 18+ to play and a resident of Manitoba.
?MEDIA CONTACT:
Alexis Wenzowski, Chief Operating Officer
JCFS Winnipeg
204-477-7430, awenzowski@jcfswinnipeg.org
