Good news, Swifties. If you were one of the many unlucky Louisiana fans who were waitlisted in the desperate struggle this summer for tickets to one of Taylor Swift's upcoming New Orleans shows, there's still some hope.
Children's Hospital New Orleans is raffling off 28 suite tickets to Swift's "Eras" tour concert at the Superdome on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. The raffle is part of the hospital's annual Sugarplum Ball, which helps raise money for its Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
Proceeds from the raffle will be used to fund a pediatric stem cell transplant unit at the hospital, according to Children's President and CEO Lucio Fragoso.
“This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity, and for no greater cause,” Fragoso said in a press release.
Here's all you need to know about the raffle:
How the raffle works
Calling all Swifties: This Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour ticket raffle will help children with cancer
Children’s Hospital New Orleans announced a ticket raffle to raise funds for a new Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Unit that will help children…
Children's Hospital is selling a maximum of 5,000 raffle tickets for $200 per ticket. Seven people will win four tickets each. The winners will be drawn at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, 2024 and notified the same day.
Tickets will be transferred to the winners three days before the concert and the tickets cannot be resold.
Raffle participants must be at least 21 years old.
Read the complete raffle rulebook here.
How to buy raffle tickets
You can purchase raffle tickets online here or over the phone by calling (504) 896-9375. You can also mail entries to the Office of Development, Children’s Hospital New Orleans, 200 Henry Clay Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118.
Raffle sales are open now. Online and phone sales close at 5 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, 2024. Mail entries must be post marked by March 11, 2023.
Participants must provide a name, address, phone number, email address and credit card information (if not paying by check) to enter the drawing. Checks should be made payable to Children’s Hospital New Orleans.
Where the proceeds go
The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s Hospital provides advanced treatments for children with leukemia, lymphoma, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia and other childhood cancers and blood disorders.
Children’s is the only accredited pediatric stem cell transplant facility in the state, according to the press release. Children's also conducts cancer research and has the largest, most experienced group of pediatric cancer specialists in the region, staffed by faculty from LSU Health New Orleans and Tulane University School of Medicine.
Patients undergoing stem cell transplantation are profoundly immunosuppressed and require prolonged hospital admissions that can last months, according to Children's. They are at high risk for infections and require enhanced protection while in the hospital.
Pediatric stem cell transplant units are specially designed with children's needs in mind. Filtration systems lower infection risks and allow for play and socialization within the unit and outside children's rooms, creating a much-improved patient experience.
Children’s Hospital New Orleans cared for 20 transplant patients this year, and expects this population to grow as the hospital continues to develop its Stem Cell Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program, including gene therapy for sickle cell disease patients that is now FDA-approved and will begin in 2024. Children's will be the only facility in Louisiana to offer what it called the "life-changing" treatment.