We’ll be at the Iowa State Fair next Monday, and hope to see you there!
The first Monday of the Fair is known as Veterans Day at the State Fair, and it will be our chance to join all Fair-goers in honoring veterans while we spread the word about one of the most important beneficiaries of Iowa Lottery proceeds: the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.
The Veterans Trust Fund is truly an Iowa success story, and not every state has something like it. The Trust Fund was established here in Iowa to provide state help to veterans and their families over and above the federal veterans benefits. Iowa veterans and their families who can’t find help through other programs can apply for help through the Trust Fund for things like dental care, job training, individual or family counseling, and emergency housing and car repairs.
To date, the lottery has raised nearly $32.4 million for the Veterans Trust Fund. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of all Iowa Lottery tickets is dedicated to the Trust Fund, and that’s money specifically for Iowa veterans and their families.
The Iowa Lottery will be at the State Fair on the Grand Concourse on Monday, Aug. 16, in the big white exhibition tent in front of the Service Center. Our booth will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day, and we’ll be selling and cashing tickets in our scratch games, lotto games like Powerball and Mega Millions, and InstaPlay games. If you buy at least $10 in tickets that day, you can spin the prize wheel to win merchandise prizes.
We’ll have all 15 scratch games available that are eligible for our Million Dollar $ummer promotion, which has a top prize of $1 million, just like the name says! We’ll also have the games eligible for our Prize Zone promotions for a Brett Young concert package or tickets at the Iowa Lottery Ironmen Patio for the Hawkeye football game Oct. 9 vs. Penn State or Nov. 13 vs. Minnesota.
We’ll be able to help folks that day who want to enter the promotions through our VIP Club.
And if you’re an Iowa veteran or the family member of a veteran looking for more information about the Veterans Trust Fund, here is quick background about how the Trust Fund process works: The Iowa Lottery raises proceeds for the Trust Fund, but it’s the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs that makes decisions about the grants that are given out from the fund.
Anyone who wants to apply for help from the Trust Fund will need to fill out an application at their county Veterans Service Office (there’s a service office in each of Iowa’s 99 counties).
You can learn more by going to va.iowa.gov, the website for the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs, and clicking on the “Benefits” tab. Or you can call the VA in Johnston at 800-838-4692.