VFW Post 2008 Ladies Auxiliary Trustee Pattie West, left, and Auxiliary President Gwyn Harris, right, present a handmade Afghan to Yvonne Johnson, winner of a recent Auxiliary raffle. Proceeds from the sale will benefit veterans, overseas troops, and their families, according to Harris.
Yvonne Johnson, who now lives in Lumberton, held the winning ticket to receive a handmade red, white and blue Afghan donated by an auxiliary member. More than 150 tickets were sold by the group prior to last week's drawing.
"I am overwhelmed to have won the Afghan," said Johnson, a minister at Faith Anointed Temple in Red Springs. "At first I thought, 'How can winning this be a blessing to others?' But after seeing the Afghan, I think I will keep this and pass it on to my grandchildren."
A nurse at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton, Johnson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2005.
"The MS is gone, I have a job helping those in need, and I was the winner of this beautiful Afghan," she said. "I am blessed."
Johnson said she entered the drawing by purchasing two $1 tickets earlier this year while still living in Laurinburg.
"I always support veterans groups, so I bought one ticket for myself and another for my friend," she said. "I have always been a lucky person, although I didn't have a lot, and it was very exciting to learn that I was the winner."
Gwyn Harris, president of the Ladies Auxiliary, presented the Afghan to Johnson at the offices of the Laurinburg Exchange. She was accompanied by Auxiliary Trustee Pattie West.
"We are so happy to present this to someone who seems to like the Afghan very much and who will take good care of it," Harris said. "I hope this brings you good luck with the illness you are fighting to overcome."
"I will take good care of it," Johnson said. "This Afghan was given with love, and it is being received with love. Thank you."
The Ladies Auxiliary sponsors periodic raffles to assist veterans, overseas troops, and their families, according to Harris. Proceeds from raffles, the annual yard sale, and Poppy Day are used to buy phone cards for troops, to send packages overseas, to provide housing for families near military hospitals, and to assist in many other functions.
"Each year the North Carolina Ladies Auxiliary has a special project to support, and this year it is to provide laptop computers to wounded NC veterans," Harris said. "LAVFW is a service organization, serving first our veterans and their families and then our communities through volunteer work."
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