Humane Society 'flabbergasted' by current jackpot for Taylor Swift 50/50 draw

Time is nearly up to get in on the Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo & Stratford Perth’s raffle that will see the winner walk away with a significant cash prize and a pair of Taylor Swift tickets.

The deadline to buy tickets is Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and the excitement at the Humane Society has reached a new level.

CTV News Kitchener stopped by on Wednesday and the Humane Society’s director of development, Jordan Baker, was dressed up as Taylor Swift.

“We’ve been joking about different milestones, hitting things, and somebody would have to dress up. Now, that somebody is me and here we are,” said Baker.

Baker’s colleague and director of finance, Thomas Hemming, was dressed up as Swift’s boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs football star Travis Kelce.

Hemming joked that if the jackpot reaches $300,000 they may have to raise the stakes. By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, the jackpot reached more than $226,000.

The lucky winner will also get two tickets to see Swift in Toronto on Nov. 15.

“I am honestly just flabbergasted. It’s amazing. And it really speaks to how well the community has responded to this,” said Baler.

With more than $450,000 raised, half of it will go to the Humane Society.

“So it’s being used for our programs here,” said Baker. “In return, that equals around 4,500 spays or neuters. So it’s a really wild amount of money that we can utilize.”

Money raised will go toward funding pet adoptions programs, the veterinary clinic and other initiatives like building a new mobile veterinary clinic.

It seems like the Humane Society picked the right superstar to attach to their cause. The jackpot continues to climb ahead of the draw.

"You can thank Taylor for this, she’s such a special person,” said Baker, looking at a cardboard cutout of Taylor Swift. “It honestly felt like a perfect blending of values, a perfect blending of care about animals. Taylor loves her cats. We love our cats here. It was a perfect mix. And Taylor Swift is one of the biggest cultural phenomena right now.”