Giant rabbit raffle is helping raise funds

If you didn't know, there's a three-foot, 20 pound chocolate bunny at Winans Chocolates and Coffees named Big Max.

The big bunny is being given away in a raffle drawing on Friday, April 2 to help local nonprofits.

"Essentially they're donating to each of these organizations," said Amy Ambrose, the franchise owner for the Wapakoneta store.the ticket purchase price is directed toward the organization off the purchaser’s choice.

The organizations receiving money are Downtown Wapakoneta Partnership, the Autism Life Center in Lima and the Northwest Ohio Rescue and Restore Coalition in Lima.

For anyone unfamiliar, Downtown Wapakoneta Partnership tries to maintain downtown by promoting occupancy of every building, helps building owners with code and regulatory issues and promotes downtown as fun, safe and family-friendly.

The Autism Life Center, based in Lima and serving Northwest Ohio, helps families who have autism by providing support groups and activities.

And the Northwest Ohio Rescue and Restore Coalition tries to end sexual and labor human

trafficking.

Ambrose said there's one more week to sell tickets.

Technically this is the second year of doing the raffles, although she said they did donate one chocolate bunny to Otterbein Cridersville last year because they couldn't exchange tickets.

"We thought that their residents would just really like the bunny and like eating him," she said. "So we just kind of chose to bless them last year."

The bunny, which takes three days to mold and set, is made of milk chocolate. She also said Big Max could be made from milk or dark chocolate. The bunny - who was made at the company's chocolate factory in Piqua - gets his name after Max Winans, who founded the company 60 years ago.

Ambrose wasn't able to verify the exact amount of tickets the store has sold, but guessed it was 'a couple hundred' and said she had to print more after selling out of the original ticket batch.

She's also happy with printing more.

"it's great,… it all benefits the organizations," she said.

There are no limits to the amount of tickets a person can buy and will be sold until Friday, April 2 when they will have the drawing. Tickets cost $3/ticket, $5/two tickets and $10/five tickets and are sold at their store.

Tickets are cash only, although they will accept checks.

And if you really, really want a Big Max but are worried you won't win, the store will sell them individually for $199.95.