Stories · Impact · 2026

The Chance to Back a Future: Inside The Big Draw

How a raffle became a lifeline for a regional student. Read about the power of community support and workplace partnerships in changing lives.

One Friday morning in mid-June, a young man stood in front of a group of tradies and shared his story. Coming from a small, regional town—the kind of place where a scholarship to study in Sydney isn't something you plan for, it's something you don't let yourself hope for. He told them about his mum's cancer diagnosis, the year that swallowed his family, and the relief of watching her come through it, fully recovered, earlier this year. Then he thanked A Start in Life for standing behind him through all of it.

He's studying engineering in Sydney now. That Friday, he wasn't in a lecture theatre. He was on site with our partners from the John Holland CPB Contractors Ghella Joint Venture (JCG), watching the trades and skills he'd only ever learned about in textbooks come to life right in front of him. There's already talk of turning that morning into a workplace placement. For a kid from a small town who once had to hope quietly, that's not a small thing.

What the Community Backed

That morning happened because of a raffle. The Big Draw ran with one simple idea: every ticket bought gives a young person a chance at an education. A Start in Life has been providing education support to disadvantaged students facing financial hardship across NSW and ACT since 1923, and every dollar raised from the draw goes straight to students like him.

JCG backed it with 30 prizes, including a scenic flight, a Sydney Harbour Bridge climb, restaurant vouchers, gift cards, AFL tickets, and more—all put forward by a construction partner that didn't have to get involved with a youth education charity, and chose to anyway. Tickets have now closed and the draw has been run. What matters isn't who won. It's who backed it.

“The engagement of the project leaders and staff in contributing to a good cause was amazing, only surpassed by the opportunity for our student to immerse himself in, and build connections in the industry he is studying for.”

A Start in Life team and student on site with with Bob Nowotny, Project Director at John Holland CPB Contractors Ghella Joint Venture.

Why This Is an Investment, Not a Donation

It's easy to think of a raffle ticket as a bit of fun with a chance of a prize attached. For a student in need, it is an investment made by a stranger who may never meet them. Every ticket sold this campaign helps fund the opportunities, studies, tutoring, equipment, placements, and yes, the site visits, that turn a country kid's engineering degree from a long shot into a real career.

Our student didn't just see tunnel boring machines that Friday. He saw proof that people he'd never met had already decided he was worth backing, long before he walked onto that site.

Thank You

To everyone who bought a ticket, and to JCG for making this draw possible: thank you. You didn't just fund prizes. You funded a Friday morning that a regional kid, now an engineering student, won't forget.