State Senator Darren Bailey (R-Louisville), will pull the lucky raffle winner of a Home Giveaway as a way to help raise matching funds for a State of Illinois grant to build a new community center in Dieterich. The winner Sen. Bailey will draw on May 22, 2021 will either win a brand-new home valued at $250,000 or a $100,000 pile of cash.

“I am honored to be a part of this event where not only one person in the community comes home a winner, but that the community as a whole will be a winner with a new 16,500-square foot community center,” said Sen. Bailey.

The small Effingham County town of approximately 800 people is no stranger to checking off accomplishments to enhance the quality of life in the community. Over the last 18 years, the town and its residents have come together by raising funds for a cell tower, downtown beautification project, an expansion of EJ Water, a new Dollar General Store, plus a medical clinic and pharmacy.

Most recently, the community found a new need for a daycare and recreational center. Since the fall of 2019, volunteers and businesses in the community started raising funds to turn a Community Center vision into reality. While that reality was stalled due to COVID-19 hardships, that all changed during a phone call on March 16, 2021 from Sen. Bailey’s office.

“Our office reached out to the Village of Dieterich letting them know they were the recipient of a $2-million grant from the State of Illinois to help fund and build their town’s community center,” said Sen. Bailey. “This is one of the best parts about my job by seeing communities thrive through state grant programs like this one.”

With the grant, the Community Center can now be a modern facility while being fully equipped on day one but organizers says they’re still in need of donations.

“We still need money to be donated,” said Committee Member Charity Bohnhoff.  “Of the $900,000 needed, $500,000 is to fulfill the matching requirement of the grant. $400,000 is to fully fund the daycare, as no grant monies can be used on that portion of the building.”

The Dieterich Community Center will be located across the street from the school. It will include a daycare, gymnasium, community rooms, and workout facility. To find out more information on the raffle and how you can contribute, click here.

Original source can be found here.