House raffle supports soldiers overseas

Prince Frederick horse farm has eight acres; raffle tickets sell for $100

Friday, Sept. 5, 2008

Any Soldier, an organization supporting U.S. soldiers serving overseas, is raffling off a horse farm in Prince Frederick, complete with ‘‘a single-family custom colonial located on approximately 8 acres, with [a] water view of the Patuxent River, approximately 5,100 square feet, five bedrooms, 2.5 baths. It is a beautiful farm property with five stalls, barn and six paddocks,” according to a release.

‘‘It’s a beautiful custom-built home. It’s absolutely beautiful here, a beautiful part of the county. I love being in Calvert,” said home owner Natalie Skyrm, 47.

The La Plata-based charity helps people send care packages to soldiers, seamen, airmen and members of the Coast Guard who are at sea or overseas. Most of those on the list are in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The recession played a role in the home owners’ decision to go the raffle route after learning of a successful one in western Maryland, according to Skyrm, who is selling the home with her husband Steven, 49.

‘‘In the declining market of home sales, we decided to use a little alternative route,” Skyrm said. ‘‘It’s for a good cause. We decided to go the raffle route and go with a nonprofit organization.”

Skyrm and her husband chose Any Soldier because they’ve been supporters of the group for about four years and have friends serving in Iraq.

At $100 each, Any Soldier must sell at least 9,000 tickets to cover the $835,000 market value of the home, legal fees and smaller cash prizes. The revenue from any additional tickets will go to the charity, according to Christina Boblits, the charity’s business manager and CFO.

As of Sept. 3, the charity had sold only 104 tickets and is eager to sell more, Boblits said. The raffle drawing is scheduled for Nov. 11 but could be pushed back if necessary.

‘‘We are a donation-based organization, so the funds will support our organization. We have many efforts, but we work with the Wounded Warriors Battalion and we send support over to our wounded warriors” as well as providing other services, Boblits said.

Skyrm urged Americans to support Any Soldier by buying tickets or making donations, regardless of their opinions on the war in Iraq.

‘‘It’s not about the war, it’s about the soldiers. That’s my motto. We can agree or disagree about the war but it’s about the soldiers right now,” she said. ‘‘... If there’s anything I can do to help them, because with them being away from home, if I can make their life a little easier I’m going to do it. Because they’re there for me, for my freedom.”