Strapped for college dues? Pembroke Pines wants to help with this fundraising raffle
If you’re the parent of a Florida kid or a soon-to-be high school graduate, the question of college — and how to pay for it — has likely crossed your mind.
This winter, the Pembroke Pines Charter School Foundation wants to put one aspiring college student at ease and pay for their schooling as part of its latest fundraising campaign.
The school system’s nonprofit is raffling a paid-for Florida Prepaid College Savings Plan, approximately $27,000, for one state resident age newborn to 21 to spend on the university of their choice. That equates to a four-year scholarship that covers tuition and fees for roughly 120 undergraduate credit hours, according to the city’s website.
Tickets are $100, nonrefundable and available for purchase Monday, Dec. 8, through Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. While the foundation has a selling cap of 1,000 tickets — and averages 500 entries annually, assistant city manager Jonathan Bonilla told the Pembroke Pines News — there’s no limit to how many entries a family can purchase to better their odds.
To break even on the scholarship, the charter school foundation needs to sell about 290 tickets.
Any profits from the raffle are funneled back to the nonprofit, which provides the school system with internal scholarships for teachers and students, Employee of the Year bonuses and campus-wide projects such as playground upgrades, Bonilla said.
“It’s a good thing for whoever wins and it’s a great thing for our charter schools ... it’s one of those things that’s a win-win for everyone,” he added.
The winner will be drawn on Feb. 4 during a 6:30 p.m. commission meeting at City Hall by a selected honoree and read aloud by Mayor Angelo Castillo to maintain transparency, Bonilla said. Though the meeting is open to the public and livestreamed on YouTube, attendance isn’t required as ticket holders will also be notified via email.
“Normally, when we make the call, people are crying out of happiness because there’s an abundance of joy and gratitude,” Bonilla said. “It’s a $27,000 investment in their kid’s future, so it’s an amazing thing. The feedback that we’ve gotten from parents is phenomenal.”
This story was originally published December 2, 2025 at 11:19 AM.
