The winner of the 2021 CHEO Dream of a Lifetime Lottery is ….

An Ottawa family is kicking off 2022 by winning the CHEO Dream of a Lifetime Lottery.

"Oh my god, it's stunning," said Carly Coldham, walking into the Minto Dream Home with her husband Mark and two children.

The CHEO Foundation announced ticket number 013613, held by Mark Coldham, won the grand prize package worth over $3.1 million in the annual lottery to support CHEO.

"I’m speechless, blown away," says Carly Coldham."Never in my wildest imagination could I have even thought we would get that call today. I thought it was somebody scheduling a delivery looking for Mark, but at first I think I thought it was a bit of a scam at first and than was overcome with joy."

The grand prize includes the Minto Dream Home fully furnished by La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, bi-weekly cleaning for one year from ATC Cleaning, $100,000 in cash, a 2021 four-door LTD Hybrid Explorer 4WD from Donnelly Ford Lincoln Ltd., a $5,000 gift card from Farm Boy, moving services from Adam's Moving and legal services from Mann Lawyers.

"You think of the odds, you think it’s going to charity and that’s all that matters," says Mark Coldham, adding the couple buys tickets each year. “This year we were thinking do we want to buy one ticket or three and Carly said lets get three. It goes to charity and we’ve used CHEO with the kids a bunch of times."

When it comes to keeping the home, the Coldham family have plenty to think about, but say that after walking through the house, it would be hard to turn away.

"It’s stunning, the layout is incredible, the furniture inside it really is a dream home," says Carly.

"It lives up to the tagline that’s for sure," adds Mark.

Meantime, Rosalee Gravelle of Russell, Ont. is the winner of the 50/50 draw jackpot, which climbed to a record $2,867,625.  Gravelle wins $1.4 million.

Ticket holders can check their tickets online at www.dreamofalifetime.ca as of 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 6. All winners will receive a confirmation letter from MNP LLP within two weeks detailing how to claim their prize.

Money raised through the CHEO Dream of a Lifetime Lottery and the 50/50 draw support pediatric healthcare and research at CHEO, the CHEO Research Institute and Roger Neilson House.

Dan Champagne, vice-president of development and corporate relations with the CHEO Foundation, says there has been a sharp increase in mental health issues among children.

"There is somewhere in the order of a 400 per cent increase in traffic to our emergency departments because of COVID with children and our youth so this money allows us to put it where it’s needed the most right away," said Champagne.