The UMaine Alumni Association has launched its annual tuition raffle, which will pay at least $9,000 to cover the prize recipient’s tuition at UMaine in Orono for the 2020-21 academic year. All students planning to attend the university in the 2020-21 academic year are eligible to receive the prize regardless of whether they are in-state or out-of-state residents, according to a news release from the association.

The specific amount to be awarded will be the dollar equivalent of 30 credit hours at the university’s in-state undergraduate tuition rate, which will soon be set by university trustees. University Credit Union has partnered with the Alumni Association to sponsor the raffle.

“Parents, grandparents, friends, and anyone 18 years of age or older can participate in the raffle and can designate the UMaine student they’d like to receive the prize,” said John N. Diamond, the Alumni Association’s president and executive director, according to the release.

Participation in the raffle is free, though the Alumni Association suggests a donation of $5 per ticket to help support the organization’s programs on behalf of students and alumni.

Tickets submitted by mail to the association must be postmarked no later than Friday, May 1. Tickets hand delivered to the Alumni Association at UMaine’s Buchanan Alumni House in Orono must be received by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5. The drawing will take place at noon Wednesday, May 6, at UMaine’s Buchanan Alumni House in Orono and will be live streamed on Facebook. The winner will be contacted immediately afterward.

For raffle tickets, or more information, visit UMaineAlumni.com or call Erica Sturrock at 581-1138.

Established in 1875, the University of Maine Alumni Association is an independent organization that advocates for the interests of UMaine’s 109,000 alumni, its current students, and the university itself.