Games For Soldiers - Summer 2009 Raffle

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PLEASE DO NOT MENTION RAFFLE IN YOUR PAYMENT. PAYPAL IS GIVING ME A HARD TIME ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW. THANK YOU!


Hello all! Please visit this link or read below about Games For Soldiers' Summer 2009 Raffle. It'll be amazing! Also, all CAGs will receive one (1) additional raffle ticket if you purchase the 5 for $40.00. Please include CAG: in your Paypal payment. Thank you!


Games For Soldiers​
Summer 2009 Raffle
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Thank you for visiting the information page for GFS’s Summer 2009 Raffle. Enter to win great prizes including a Playstation 3, and Xbox 360 or a Nintendo Wii. Additional prizes will be offered during the course of the auction (07. July 2009 - 02. August 2009).

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Ticket Prices​
$10.00 - 1 Ticket​
$25.00 - 3 Tickets​
$40.00 - 5 Tickets

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To enter the raffle, please make a Paypal payment to [email protected]. You can purchase multiple amounts in one payment ($65.00 will net you 8 tickets, $50.00 will get you 6, etc.). Please note in your payment the following information: Full Name, Email Address, Any Special Affiliations (Forum Name (with your username, etc.). Any payments that do not include those required pieces of information will be refunded. Any payments mentioning "raffle" will also be promptly refunded for new purchases after 12. July 2009 due to Paypal regulations. All raffle purchases are "donations".


Main Prize drawing will occur on the following schedule:​
31. July 2009 - Nintendo Wii
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01. August 2009 - Sony Playstation (160GB w/ Uncharted)
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02. August 2009 - Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite (w/ Fable 2 and Halo 3)
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Additional scheduled drawings:

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Wednesday, 08. July 2009 - $25 Amazon.com Gift Card S. Misier (CAG)
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Friday, 10. July 2009 - 1600 Microsoft Points S. Watson (South Bend, IL)
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Saturday, 11. July 2009 - 2000 Wii Points J. Ericson (Pittsburg, CA)
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Sunday, 12. July 2009 - $20 Playstation Network Card K. McDonald (Tacoma, WA)
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Friday, 17. July 2009 - PopCap "Peggle Prize Pack" J. Bilodeau (Gardner, MA)​
Saturday, 18. July 2009 - Fight Night Round 4 (Winner's Choice of PS3 or 360) T. J. Hudson (Boca Raton, FL)
Sunday, 19. July 2009 - BlazBlue Calamity Trigger LE (Winner's Choice of System) G. Smith (Houston, TX)
Friday, 24. July 2009 - Wii Sports Resort (ships on release date)



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Other drawings will occur throughout the raffle period. Winning one of the smaller prizes will NOT exclude you from the final three drawings. Additional prizes include: Microsoft Points, PSN Cards, Wii Points, Retail Giftcards, Recent Release Video Games and many more. Entering early will give you an optimal chance to win great prizes. No entries accepted after 11:59pm EST on 30. July 2009.

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Please contact [email protected] with any questions. Thank you!​
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Tickets are now available for sale. First scheduled drawings include:

Friday, 10. July 2009 - 1600 Microsoft Points
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Saturday, 11. July 2009 - 2000 Wii Points
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Sunday, 12. July 2009 - $20 Playstation Network Card
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??? - PopCap "Peggle Prize Pack"​

Get your tickets now for more chances to win.
 
I am marking this for later. I do not have any money to spare right now, but hopefully with the next check I get I can use some for this good cause.
 
Thank you for visiting the information page for GFS
signature_deepthakur.jpg
:)
 
If i can, i'll try and buy 5 for $40, good luck with the raffle.

When exactly in July does the raffle begin? I can't enter now, but i might be able to next week.
 
I believe the smaller drawings begin Friday the 10th, but the consoles aren't until the end of July/beginning of August. Still plenty of time to donate.
 
[quote name='Hostile']Purchased a raffle. Is the reason you didn't do $5 per raffle because of Paypal fees?[/QUOTE]

there shouldnt be paypal fees since its a gift, no?
 
leftwing, that would be true but a lot of people either can't or don't know how to send as a gift.

Hostile, the reason is simply that it's a charitable cause. We offer a discount rate at higher ticket purcahses (plus a bonus to CAGs). I know that some people may be put off by the ticket cost, but so far about 75% of people who have bought tickets have bought the 5 for $40 (some have bought 10 for $80). In the end, with the number of prizes being given out and the quality of the final three prizes, $10 really isn't unreasonable. I honestly do appreciate the question/input though. Perhaps our Holiday raffle will have $5 tickets... we'll have to change the prizes available though for that one. :)
 
First drawing, $25 Amazon.com gift card is in 20 minutes... be sure to get your raffle tickets before then for a chance to win this prize. It surely does NOT disqualify you from other prizes.
 
Congratulations to our first prize winner, CAGs very own sbarbermisier. You should have an email waiting!

Good luck to all of you on future drawing! :)
 
I know this can be a sensitive subject and I foresee myself getting flamed for this, but is this really a worthy cause?

I mean a raffle is a raffle, I just prefer to stand behind things like the Child's Play charity, where the cause helps those who can't actually help themselves. Most soldiers (enlisted or officers) make more than enough money to fund their gaming habits. I'm not sure why they need donations other than lack of shipping options to APO addresses. There are stations in Iraq that have BX's/PX's and PowerZones, which, speaking from 15 years of experience, often have a limited selection, but a selection nonetheless.

Again, this may piss alot of you off, but the military already takes alot of our tax dollars, I see them asking for more money as kind of an obscenity.

I'm not asking for people to stop buying raffle tickets, but I think you'd raise more money for a more clarified/justified cause.
 
[quote name='carpwrist']I know this can be a sensitive subject and I foresee myself getting flamed for this, but is this really a worthy cause?

I mean a raffle is a raffle, I just prefer to stand behind things like the Child's Play charity, where the cause helps those who can't actually help themselves. Most soldiers (enlisted or officers) make more than enough money to fund their gaming habits. I'm not sure why they need donations other than lack of shipping options to APO addresses. There are stations in Iraq that have BX's/PX's and PowerZones, which, speaking from 15 years of experience, often have a limited selection, but a selection nonetheless.

Again, this may piss alot of you off, but the military already takes alot of our tax dollars, I see them asking for more money as kind of an obscenity.

I'm not asking for people to stop buying raffle tickets, but I think you'd raise more money for a more clarified/justified cause.[/QUOTE]


You have valid points. I'm with you on them making more than enough money and military taking our tax dollars.

But, since being in the military is their jobs, they have some downtime like us. They need something to do, so why not send them video games to keep them occupied? If I were a soldier in Iraq, I'd still like to play video games when I there is nothing else to do.
 
[quote name='carpwrist']I know this can be a sensitive subject and I foresee myself getting flamed for this, but is this really a worthy cause?

I mean a raffle is a raffle, I just prefer to stand behind things like the Child's Play charity, where the cause helps those who can't actually help themselves. Most soldiers (enlisted or officers) make more than enough money to fund their gaming habits. I'm not sure why they need donations other than lack of shipping options to APO addresses. There are stations in Iraq that have BX's/PX's and PowerZones, which, speaking from 15 years of experience, often have a limited selection, but a selection nonetheless.

Again, this may piss alot of you off, but the military already takes alot of our tax dollars, I see them asking for more money as kind of an obscenity.

I'm not asking for people to stop buying raffle tickets, but I think you'd raise more money for a more clarified/justified cause.[/QUOTE]

I don't think this is something that should be flamed. But let me make my argument. I started GFS (well, it's precursor, with was more like "Games For Me") while I was deployed to Afghanistan. We were at a remote FOB with no PX, no MWR facilities... pretty much nothing.

Getting some games from Microsoft and EA and some great people like Tim Sweeney REALLY helped our morale and helped give us something to do on our rare dowtime.

GFS's missions is primarily to get games out to those who are deployed to more remote areas. Obviously, it's not 100% the case though.

On the flip side, military salary sucks. Also, even if you don't make any more here, you can always go to Best Buy to get the latest greatest game. Even if you have the money, you might not be able to get one of six copies of Fight Night at the PX at Bagram.

So, anyway, what started as a pet project of mine has grown into a great non-profit that a lot of people really believe in. It IS a good cause. The government might tax you and take your money, but that PFC or SGT doesn't... they are just there making a crappy wage and living in the shit every day for a living.

Just my two cents.
 
I was just thinking there are big gaps in the current system where people might or might not be willing to pay, although you did mention a lot of people donating $40. Keeping the idea of donating more gets you more raffle tickets is an idea that should be kept obviously.
 
I don't see why soldiers even need this charity.

New recruits receive a $15,000 sign on bonus in CA, in addition to hazard pay, etc.
Soldiers don't pay for rent, and cost of living is extremely low esp. if stationed in Iraq.
They're doing a great service to our nation, but I don't think they're strapped for the cash to pay for a video game, whether it be new or used.
 
[quote name='DaNaD']I don't see why soldiers even need this charity.

New recruits receive a $15,000 sign on bonus in CA, in addition to hazard pay, etc.
Soldiers don't pay for rent, and cost of living is extremely low esp. if stationed in Iraq.
They're doing a great service to our nation, but I don't think they're strapped for the cash to pay for a video game, whether it be new or used.[/QUOTE]

Interesting points.

Sign on bonuses have nothing to do with the state (unless the state has a specific bonus for Guardsmen). The bonuses vary based on what military job (MOS) you go into. It also depends on several other things. Bonuses are not a guarantee for any "recruit". Bonuses also vary by service quite a bit.

Soldiers also don't make a lot of money. Sure, there are a lot of young, single guys over there who just bank it all and come home from deployment with thousands in the bank. But there are also tons of guys, like me when I was there, with a family to support back home and a huge paycut for deployment (I made roughly 50% what I do at home, even with tax exemption, separation allowance and BAH).

Lastly, as I mentioned before, a lot of the games go to troops deployed to remote areas where there is simply no place to get video games, and often no internet access. A lot of the guys I was there with spent weeks at a time at places even more remote than our main FOB, and often only had electricity during the day, let alone internet, a PX to buy anything, or anything else.

I totally appreciate people not necessarily supporting the cause, but some people seem to have a very misguided notion about the financial well-being of deployed personnel.

Interesting...
 
Thing continue to clip along. The weekend drawing were a hit for sure, even just for points cards. Popcap sent us our "Peggle Prize Pack" which is still a mystery even to me (I haven't been able to check the box contents yet). However, a lot of people seem pretty excited about it.

The drawing for the Peggle Prize Pack will probably happen this week. So, if you haven't already, get your tickets in! Thanks!
 
The winner of Friday nights drawing for the Popcap-sponsored "Peggle Prize Pack" is CAGs very own leftwing1018! Congrats! You should be receiving an email this morning!
 
Tonight's drawing will be for a copy of Fight Night Round 4, with the winner choosing PS3 or Xbox 360. If you haven't purchased your tickets yet, be sure to do so!
 
Lots of great prizes have been claimed so far. This should be another good weekend. Also, only ONE MORE WEEK before the three big drawings begin. If you haven't purchased tickets yet, do so soon!
 
Umm what ever happened with this? No activity from the OP since right before the final drawings. No info about them on the website either...
 
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