LEWISTON – Sumner residents Janet and Benjamin Hampton really enjoyed their balloon ride last month – especially since it didn’t cost them much.

Janet won their two tickets, worth $200 each, in a raffle conducted by Androscoggin Habitat for Humanity to raise funds to buy materials to build a house in Lewiston. She had spent $40 to buy 12 tickets that included the winner.

The tickets were for a ride Aug. 20 during the Great Falls Balloon Festival. But that was scrubbed due to weather conditions. “I was very disappointed for about 30 seconds – until I saw a lightning bolt,” she said.

Jim Rodrigue, pilot of the balloon owned by Androscoggin Balloon Adventures, found space for them Sunday morning and the Hamptons soared for 55 minutes over Auburn and Lewiston, landing in the industrial park near I-95 in Lewiston. “Jim gave us a nice ride. It was VIP service all the way,” said Janet. “It was truly a great experience.”

She expressed her appreciation to Androscoggin Habitat: “It was a treat that we never would have had.”

An added pleasure: Benjamin was invited to help set up the balloon and take it down – something that he had always wanted to do, Janet said.

Profits from the raffle will help purchase materials for a house being built at 144 Golder Road. Ibrahim Ghaleb and his wife, Nimo Jama, the parents of four children, will own the home with a zero-interest mortgage when it is completed this fall. The family includes a severely handicapped son who requires round-the-clock care, so the house will be specially equipped with handicapped facilities.