Brickpicker Raffle Fundraiser
Posted by CapnRex101,
Brickpicker is a popular LEGO investment website and a valued part of the online LEGO community which offers a service different to that of many other sites, thanks in part to the tireless efforts of Jeff and Ed.
The third annual raffle is currently being held on Brickpicker to raise funds which will help support Ed's son's school. A wide range of prizes are available including 75192 Millennium Falcon, Lord of the Rings sets and even a $1000 Amazon gift card! Tickets cost $10 or $15 depending on which prize you enter to win.
You can read more about the raffle here or enter directly by following this link.
Brickset members have been very successful in past raffles so I hope we can support the cause this year. Good luck if you choose to enter and good luck to the staff of Brickpicker!
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18 comments on this article
I would like to thank Huw, CapnRex101 and all Brickset.com members and staff for posting this article about our LEGO raffle for my son's school. Over the past two years, we have raised well over $100,000 to help keep the school open. The generous LEGO community has far exceeded any expectations we had when we launched the original BrickPicker LEGO raffle and I would appreciate any support you could give us once again. All proceeds go directly to an award winning school so it can help pay its bills and remain open.
These are some really great prizes and as always, I will try my best to ship anywhere in the world. Past winners have come from Belgium, the Isle of Man, Canada and all over the United States. As always, I am flexible with the winners and work with them with getting them the LEGO sets that they desire. The Rallyup.com site is exceptional and secure and has been a wonderful partner in our past raffles. Once again, thank you for your support and good luck!
I'm going in...cover me. :)
Before participating, take a look at the tuition rates for this private school and how they differ for people not of its preferred religion: https://stpaulbrl.org/tuition. Is the best use of your donations?
Having read about the school in the link, I’d rather see proceeds going to less priveledged institutions or individuals. Mind you, I’m in the UK, so wouldn’t enter anyway. Sorry!
@Lucent: That can’t be legal, can it?!?
"...many Catholic schools have a hard time making ends meet."
That's interesting to hear. Are you from the US? I know the Catholic schools here in Australia are pretty much as upper-class as you get. A very different place, I suppose.
Just saw the tuition rates. It's a bit prejudiced, sure, but it's a CATHOLIC school and seeing as how they're constantly on the verge of closing the funding is kind of necessary. 175 students is pretty small.
Having grown up in an area where the public schools were infested with gangs, Catholic schools were the only saving grace for getting an education. I had several friends who were not part of this religion and there was a price difference. However they always worked with families to volunteer to reduce the costs. Believe me, we were not well off and many of my friends were in worse situations who were at this school. I have seen other Christian schools that wouldn’t even consider you unless you belonged to a preferred religion. Grateful to have the opportunity.
I was going to comment, but then thought better of it. A Lego hobby site is not the appropriate place to discuss the rights and wrongs of faith schools.
Equally, it could be argued that a Lego hobby site is not an appropriate place to promote a raffle in aid of a private faith school.
"I find your lack of faith disturbing".
I think religion is irrelevant to my objection to this article post. If this were a school for people with special needs, or a children's hospital, or any kind of charity I would have no issue with this article being posted on the main page of Brickset. I don't consider people running a private school and then asking members of the general population to help fund it classifies as a charity. Having LEGO sets as the prizes is a pretty tenuous link to justify plastering this over the premier website for LEGO fans. Not to mention Brickpicker seems a site dedicated to LEGO investment and predicting which sets will inflate in value the fastest, ergo scalping at its basest level. I love the secondary market, I have so many sets from Bricklink and other sites that I would not normally have access to, but I think when you run a site like Brickpicker that is focused on capitalist greed you should not then go on a worldwide cap-in-hand search for funds for a private school that can't make ends meet. Ask for money within your church and anybody who has seen the value this school has given back to its community. I'm sorry to sound so harsh, but I just don't like the precedent this article has set on what constitutes news on the front page of Brickset. This is barely appropriate for a forum topic.
I actually went to St. Paul’s for Kindergarten - 8th grade in the 90’s. It’s a great school.
So I did some research, and this school has nearly been closed down several times in the last 10 years due to lack of funding. Its local diocese removed its funding which tells me even the church doesn't think its a good investment to keep this place going.
A google search showed 2 separate articles, one dated 2014 and another 2016, both saying the school was threatened with closure... yet here we are 2 years later with the same story yet again.
Clearly if the schools not being funded by former pupils, its governing board, PTA, local diocese or other legitimate means, something is really wrong with it and I question Bricksets support of it.
I think bigginsd sums up most peoples thoughts on this.
As many other users have stated, fundraising to keep a religiously-biased school plugged into life support is not welcome here. In my opinion sites like Brickpicker, by promoting what seems like harmless investing, along with other factors (such as Lego's severely limited Comic-con giveaways) is unknowingly and indirectly responsible for atrocities like theft of Lego sets and the success of Lepin by inflating aftermarket prices. I don't think half the users on Brickpicker, who are just in it for the money, have touched a Lego brick in their life.
Long time reader, first time commenter.
I'm pretty agnostic, borderline atheist. Don't really mind that the raffle is for a religion based institution. What is important is that the raffle is run properly and legally. I have no reason to think it is shady.
If you do not like the idea or the underlying institution, you do not have to participate or read further than the post title. The site owners obviously support the idea so it is their prerogative to post about it.
Personally, I'm just in it for the Legos.
I'll point out after my previous comments, that I couldn't care less if it was a religious institution or not. Heck, even if it was the High Vulcan Science Academy, I'd still question it coming begging for donations if its nearly closed down multiple times in recent history.
As for Brick Picker... sorry, but it is a website that a tool for scalpers. Those into Lego for the fun of it, or wanting to collect because they enjoy it aren't going to give a crap if their sets are going to gain in value or not. Heck... theres probably someone out there with the full Galidor range as they love it...
Point is I agree with Norikins and others that it's sites like that that have contributed to overinflated aftermarket prices, Lepin being able to sell its shoddy knockoffs and set theft.... Need I mention the Fairy Bricks van getting robbed recently as it was full of limited sets that were meant to be going to needy kids?
Some of you may be reading a bit much into this...
(I'm more referring to the role / responsibility of Brickpicker than the raffle for the school, really)
Brickpicker robbed the Fairy Bricks van?! I hadn't heard that. Lol
Get off your high horse people! Remember there are actual kids going to this school. Brickpicker responsible for Lepin and people stealing? Puh-leez. Go back under the rock you came from ;^)