This year’s Fourth of July fundraising was different from past years, but still successful. In total, it raised $56,222.

Instead of buying food to prepare and selling lunches and other meals daily from a downtown stand, Fourth royalty contestant Kaylee Herman struck deals with restaurants and food trucks in town to donate a portion of their revenues to the fundraising effort.

And instead of selling raffle tickets to the July 4 cash prize drawing at $1 each, the chamber of commerce raised the price this year to $5.

Raffle ticket sales raised $33,260, reported Lora Lee Mason, the chamber’s executive director. That’s 6,652 tickets sold.

The winners in the prize drawing, Mason said, were Mercedes Angerman, $3,000; Leslie Cummings, $2,000; and Toot Harding, $1,000.

Herman ran four smaller raffles during the monthlong fundraising push, with prizes donated by Wrangell merchants, raising an additional $5,630.

Other donations totaled $17,332, which included cash, bingo proceeds, a silent auction, bake sale, movie night and food sales, Mason said.

The fundraising drive pays for the next year’s Fourth of July fireworks show and goes toward the chamber’s annual operating expenses.

This year’s total was lower than past years, though that’s somewhat misleading since past years included heavy expenses to run the daily food sales stand, sometimes selling three meals a day.

Herman received 30% of the total amount raised this year, as per the terms offered royalty contestants who take on the work for the five weeks of their summer.

Mason said the chamber gave a check for $16,866 last week to Herman, which she will use for college tuition as a freshman at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix and to buy a used car to have at school.

Herman said she was happy to see so many people help with the fundraising.

Though it meant a lot of long days and short sleep, she called it “a good experience,” adding, “you get out of it what you put into it.”

It was tiring, she acknowledged. “I’ve been sleeping as much as I can.”

But there are limits to how much she can sleep before heading off to college next month. Herman works part time at the Stikine Inn and at Muskeg Meadows Golf Course, and volunteers two days a week at the Parks and Recreation Department’s pickleball program.

“I like to keep busy.”