Kentucky cattle farmer raises $10K for charity

VERSAILLES, Ky. — A Kentucky cattle farmer decided to end 2020 on a charitable note, so he held a raffle that area residents could really sink their teeth into.

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Greg Dotson, of Versailles, decided to sell $5 raffle tickets for the chance to win a quarter beef, WLEX reported. He said that all money raised would go to the winner’s favorite charity, the television station reported.

“I thought, what do I have that I could raise some money with and do some good?” Dotson told WLEX.

Dotson said he was expecting a modest response.

“I was originally thinking if I could get $800 to $1,000, it would be pretty neat to gather up over a week’s period,” Dotson told WLEX.

Not only did the cows come home. So did the cash.

“The first person sent $50, and after that, the floodgates opened up,” Dotson said.

Dotson raised $10,000 and announced the winners on Facebook Live. The winning ticket belonged to Dale and Kelly Brown of Stamping Ground, WLEX reported.

The couple chose Cowboy Up for a Cure, a charity run by Rebecca Shryock of Versailles. The organization focuses on pediatric cancer and helps parents with expenses when their children have extended hospital stays.

The Browns chose the charity after their son, Drew Brown, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2012. The boy, now 14, underwent 39 months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, WLEX reported.

The Browns also donated their quarter of beef, the television station reported.

Shryock said the money was a godsend since the organization had to cancel its biggest fundraiser, a rodeo, in 2020 and 2021.

“In the past, it generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for the UK Pediatric Oncology Clinic,” Shryock told WLEX.

Dotson said he is already planning to do another raffle next Christmas, the television station reported.

Cox Media Group