I am pleased to announce that our parish will once again partner with Catholic Parish Initiatives in the 2026 Multi-Parish Raffle. This nationally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization has helped parishes raise much-needed funds since 2014 while fostering generosity and fellowship within their communities. Thanks to the success of our previous participation, we are excited to take part again this year. Our goal remains the same: to host a fun and engaging fundraiser that will help generate essential operating revenue for our parish during the 2026–2027 fiscal year. As we continue caring for our beautiful parish campus and outstanding parish school, your support helps us meet rising operational costs as well as ongoing maintenance and capital improvements.

This year’s raffle features 23 prizes totaling $68,000 with ticket sales beginning in late April and the drawing scheduled for July 18 at 8 PM.

We kindly ask you to consider purchasing the raffle tickets for yourself or selling them to family members, friends, or neighbors. The purchaser should keep the right side of the ticket. The left side, completed with contact information and accompanied by payment, should be placed in the enclosed envelope, sealed, and returned to the rectory — either through the office mail slot or in the weekly collection at Mass. Please also include any unsold tickets in the return envelope. All ticket purchases and unused tickets must be returned to the rectory by July 10, 2026. If you would like additional tickets — which would be greatly appreciated — please contact Mrs. Denise Schmidt, our parish secretary, at the rectory. Please make all checks payable to IHM Parish. One-half of all ticket revenue remains right here at IHM to support our parish.

The raffle drawing will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2026 at 8 PM EDT in Newington, CT and can be viewed live at http://www.parishraffle.com. There are a total of 23 American Express Gift Card prizes that will be awarded for a total of $68,000.

1st Prize: $30,000 2nd Prize: $10,000 3rd Prize: $8,000 4th Prize through 23rd Prize: $1,000 each

This year the raffle sponsor has introduced a grant program to support parishes without a winner. If our parish does not have a winner in the initial raffle, the allocated funds will be sent to us. We will then redistribute those funds to at least one parishioner, ensuring our parish has at least one “winner.”

I hope you will be able to join us in this annual IHM Spring Raffle. Blessings …

Sincerely in Christ, Rev. Edward J. Casey Pastor