A more than two-decade fundraiser for Lafayette Township Volunteer Fire Department hit a small hiccup during 2020.

The department creates a calendar booklet, which is sold primarily by word of mouth and through booths at local events, such as the McKean County Fair and Kinzua Bridge Fall Festival. The fundraiser has been a popular one for the department for around 25 years.

This year, due to COVID-19, those events were canceled.

While members of the department sell the calendar and area residents make it a habit to purchase one, sales aren’t what they normally would be at this point.

The calendar provides a chance to win daily throughout the year, with the minimum prize the same as the cost for the calendar. Prizes increase from there, providing the chance for a hefty windfall on certain days. Jan. 1 is the day the biggest prize is awarded, so it’s worthwhile to have one purchased before then. However, for anyone interested, the department continues to sell the calendar well into the new year.

The prizes are won by having numbers that match the Pennsylvania Pick 3 (formerly the daily number), which means that the buyer has 365 chances to win, with a bonus chance in a leap year. The Pick 3 can repeat throughout the year, and that means another win for whoever has that number.

“The most I have seen in a year is a person won four times,” said Jerry Johnson Jr., Lafayette Township VFD Treasurer. He explained that it’s his job to keep track of who gets what number when the calendar is purchased.

Then, when someone wins, Johnson sends out a check.

“We used to get phone calls from people wondering why we sent them money,” he said, noting that some people buy the calendar and lose it shortly afterward, making their win a pleasant surprise.

Lafayette Township VFD typically does a fund drive mailing in the spring, but that was skipped this year due to the pandemic.

“It didn’t feel right asking people to give us money when they didn’t have money for themselves,” Johnson said.

Other events, like a Steak & Bake, set for late August, also had to be canceled due to the pandemic.

Anyone who would like to purchase a calendar can contact Johnson at 598-6260 or visit the Lafayette Township Volunteer Fire Department’s Facebook page.