A retired couple in Wexford is raffling off their "forever" home to raise money for cancer research and suicide prevention charities.
Dave and Jane Joynes, who moved from Cornwall in the UK in order to retire in Wexford six years ago, decided to raffle off their five-bedroom detached home 13km from New Ross after Dave's brother sadly lost his battle with cancer last year.
"When my brother died, I got to the point where I needed to do something. I don't know whether it's part of the grieving process or not, but I really got angry," Dave told IrishCentral. "I needed to do something to fight against it."
Dave and Jane are raffling off 50,000 tickets at £12.50 ($17) a ticket and will donate 10% of the total earnings to Worldwide Cancer Research.
"We just feel that it's a means of raising a lot more money than we could ever donate ourselves," Jane said. "We can donate a couple of hundred ourselves, but this raffle allows us to donate thousands."
Dave and Jayne Joynes. Dave Joynes
The couple has also decided to donate some of the proceeds to a mental health charity after Jane's brother tragically died by suicide when they were setting up the raffle last October.
"The grieving was heavy again, " Dave said. "We need to put some money into a mental health charity. We're thinking at the moment that it should be Pieta House because they do amazing work."
They need to sell roughly 46,000 tickets between now and May 10, when the draw takes place.
If all tickets are sold, Dave and Jane will look to secure another "forever home" in the Wexford area.
"The only thing we've decided is that we'd like it to be somewhere in this area. We don't want to be moving away from Wexford because we like it here," Jane said.
Dave added that they have "no intention" to move back to the UK, stating that they are "very happy" in Wexford.
Aside from winning a five-bedroom detached house in Ireland's Sunny South East, the lucky winners of the May draw will also receive £5,000 in cash, a Husqvarna sit-on mower, and all legal fees and taxes paid.
Dave Joynes
The property would serve as the perfect countryside retreat or summer home and is located just 40 minutes from the Europort at Rosslare Harbour and 80 minutes from Dublin Airport.
Dave Joynes
It is within a 15-minute drive of New Ross and a half-hour's drive of Wexford Town, while numerous beautiful Wexford beaches are just a short drive away.
For more information about the upcoming raffle, click here.
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