When Mike Steele retired recently after 25 years in the airline industry, an innocent-seeming idea took hold of him – to use his free time, and some of his retirement savings, to help people in need.

He wanted to contribute financially to Compassion House, a transitional housing program for homeless families. The duplex which housed program participants always had a waiting list, so a campaign was in progress to raise $100,000 for a second duplex on a vacant lot donated for the purpose. Steele was familiar with Compassion House – it had been spun off as an independent non-profit from his church, Mountain Creek Christian Fellowship of Issaquah.

Using all his own money, he bought a new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 Limited Edition and set about raffling it off, to help Compassion House reach their goal. It was an enormous gesture.

The first check on his enthusiasm came from his wife, Rosa. Her reaction to the news?

“She said ‘You what?!’” Steele recalled ruefully.

After that, the hits seemed to keep on coming. Under the strict rules enforced by the Washington State Gambling Commission, Compassion House does not meet the organizational requirements to run its own raffle, and Steele’s church, being Free Methodist, does not engage in gambling-type activities.

The Lake Sammamish Elks Lodge eventually assumed sponsorship for the raffle, solving that problem.

The formalities of licensure and registration with the State of Washington followed.

Steele’s final problem was the decision made on the cost per ticket – $20.

“My exposure to other car raffles led me to believe that $20 was reasonable for such a valuable prize,” he said. “It seems I miscalculated.”

Steele found that many people balked at the $20 per ticket price tag even with a maximum of 10,000 tickets to be sold, possibly reflecting the effects of a depressed economy.

Even with help from the Elks and unofficial help from members of his church, he still hasn’t covered expenses, let alone raised money for Compassion House. And the clock is ticking.

The raffle drawing is scheduled for Dec. 6 at the XXX Root Beer Drive-in restaurant in Issaquah. It became something of a second home for Steele in Issaquah as he doggedly marketed raffle tickets.

If you want to contribute to the Compassion House fundraising effort and perhaps help Steele avoid a financial disaster of his own, visit www.compassion-house.org and click on the embedded link to the Elks website. Mail-in raffle entry forms can be printed from the Elks website, or call the toll free number, 888-392-1455, for immediate assistance.