05/28/2024
Our family is sad to report the following news, concerning the Disney Raffle, which was held on our behalf. We have watched in agony, as our friends, co-workers, and family members have been defrauded by a local travel agency. We are upset and angry. It further grieves us that our good name has been associated with the horrible ordeal many of you have experienced. It tears our heart out to think that some of you may have heard about this business through publicity surrounding the Disney Raffle.
We are horribly embarrassed by all of this. We understand if any of you are angry. Seeing what looked like generosity from the travel agency may have led you to believe they were a reputable company. We thought the same thing, and believed in them until the bitter end.
Many of our own family members purchased travel tickets and hotel rooms through the same company, and although our initial experiences were all positive, we now know that future bookings will never materialize.
Here is how the raffle came about. A friend of our family, who was employed by a local travel agency, reached out to her employer with an idea to raise money for Maddie’s needs, during her cancer battle. Her employer agreed and then secured a donation from a third-party, nationally known vendor. The vendor donated a 4-day, 5-night stay in Orlando, Florida, as well as 16 Disney passes. (4 people, for 4 days). The local travel agency then used this trip, which had been fully-funded and given to them, as a grand prize in the raffle.
As a community, you generously donated $1,200.00 in the form of raffle ticket purchases. Maddie’s fund did, in fact, receive those dollars. We were grateful, and thought of this as a blessing.
Until…
The Disney trip. A local family had their name drawn as the winners, and was invited to the travel agency for a photo op, and public presentation of their prize. This sweet family excitedly announced the trip to their children who then counted down the days until their adventure.
When travel day came, they found that there was no room, and no tickets. When we learned of this, we immediately reached out to the travel agency owners. Finally, after much undue stress to the prize recipients, the room was provided.
The tickets were a different story. The travel agency owners assured the family that if they would pay out-of-pocket, they would be immediately reimbursed. A check from the travel agency was deposited directly into the prize-winner’s account. It later bounced. All of this was blamed on the now-infamous “glitch” with the travel agency’s accounting.
Our family was given personal assurances by the travel agency owners that it was all some terrible error on Disney’s end, and they promised the tickets would be made good. Believing it had all been resolved, we secured permission from the winner to post a family photo of their trip.
We were all deceived. It had not been fixed. We immediately took down the picture. We were horrified.
That precious family has suffered the loss of almost $2,000.00, since they had unknowingly drawn on the bogus funds to pay for their last 2 days of tickets. What happened to them is a crime, in every sense of the word. Even for tickets they did receive, they had to wait by the phone, as hours of their vacation time ticked away, trying to get this resolved.
Please know that the employee who came up with the raffle idea is not responsible. She acted in good faith, as did all of you, when you bought a ticket in hopes of winning. Our friend resigned her position at the travel agency as soon as she found out what was happening. We love her, and want her to know we are grateful for what she did! It was a beautiful gesture.
We thought we knew these owners. We trusted them. We have urged them to repent and to restore everyone’s money, even if it means selling everything they own.
We have put it all in God’s hands, and also in the hands of local law enforcement, who often act on God’s behalf. We invite you to do the same, if you have suffered financial loss.
