LUMBERTON — Parkton Postal Service’s Toni Anderson was definitely in the holiday spirit on Tuesday after she found out her name was picked during the 12th drawing of the United Way new car giveaway.

“I was really excited — nothing like that has ever happened to me before,” Anderson said. “I was like ‘cool beans!’ I was tickled.”

Peterson Toyota’s Robert Peterson, the general manager, selected the 12th qualifier.

“It’s a great cause,” Peterson said. “It helps as an incentive to get people to give money to the United Way.”

Anderson is a fair-share giver, which means she donates the equivalent of an hour’s pay each month to the Robeson County United Way. She will be among 16 qualifiers drawn from 843 fair-share givers to be part of a final drawing for a new car on Jan. 28 at Biggs Park Mall.

Anderson, who lives in Raeford, is a letter carrier for the Parkton Postal Service and said that convincing her to donate to the United Way wasn’t hard.

“I wanted to make a donation to something that was related to education,” she said. “I just wanted to help.”

The United Way distributes money to 18 local organizations that helped an estimated 67,000 residents of Robeson County last year.

Every Tuesday until Jan. 19, four car dealerships — Jerry Johnson Chevrolet, Lumberton Honda, Lumberton Nissan, and Peterson Toyota — will take turns hosting a drawing, and together they provide the ultimate prize: a new car.

Greg Price, United Way board member, was at Tuesday’s drawing, along with Audrey Hester with Southeastern Hospice, Dencie Lambdin from Communities in Schools, and Cindy Edwards from Southeastern Family Violence Center.

The next drawing is at Jerry Johnson Chevrolet.