Shop N' Win Sweepstakes Winner Gifted Additional Winnings After Facebook Contest

Cooley Ranch resident Annette Robles was celebrating her birthday with her family Friday evening when things took a surprising turn. The 52-year-old grandmother and winner of the November 2013 Shop N' Win monthly coupon book sweepstakes got a second visit from City News Group publisher Margie Miller, who this time came to deliver Robles an additional $659. "I told Margie, God has put [her] in my life for a reason," Robles said. In December 2013, Miller contacted Robles to let her know she had won the November 2013 Shop N' Win monthly coupon sweepstakes after Robles's winning Grand Terrace Market Night coupon was drawn. The grand prize totaled $1,000. For Robles, those winnings couldn't come at a better time. Robles, who has worked as a server for several years at Denny's Restaurant in Rubidoux, was forced to take time off from work after suffering the effects of tendinitis just before Christmas, and she was then worried about coming up with funds to cover the cost of bills and other expenses. Miller, touched by Robles's story, wanted to do more to help. City News Group launched a Facebook "liking" contest — for every "like" on Facebook City News Group received up to Jan. 23, 2014, they would donate $1 additional to Robles, up to $1,000. By the end of the contest, $659 was raised. "When I woke up Friday I thanked God for a blessed day and I prayed, 'I won't worry about my financial situation anymore. I will leave it all in Your hands. I know it's going to work out,'" Robles said. "After that I made my morning coffee and the first call I got was Margie telling me she had additional winnings for me. How funny that it happened twice. Every time I tell God I will stop worrying about finances, he takes care of me. I told Margie, 'I think God keeps putting me in her hands.'" Robles gathered later that evening with family members at her parents' home in Grand Terrace for her birthday celebration. When Miller arrived, Robles and her parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, children Robert, Amanda and Liana and her grandchildren were there to celebrate the additional winnings. "It was so nice when she came. We threw the money up in the air," Robles recalled, laughing. "My family and kids loved it. There wasn't a bigger blessing than that." [END] Grandmother's Prayers Answered When She Wins $1,000 in Shop N' Win Sweepstakes Annette Robles, of Cooley Ranch, was crying incredulous tears of joy as she drove all the way home: God had answered the prayers of the mother of three and grandmother of five when she was told she had just been named the winner of the most recent Shop N' Win monthly coupon book sweepstakes and would take home the $1,000 grand prize. Recent financial times were tough, and Robles was struggling with the burden of having to come up with an extra $600 to cover rent and other expenses. "I remember thinking, where am I going to come up with $600?" she said. Her worries were put to ease one evening when she was contacted by Margie Miller of City News Group, who told Robles that she had won. "I was flabbergasted. I was basically in shock. I couldn't believe it. I kept saying, 'God, you did not fail me.' When I told my sister on the phone we were crying together. We'd all been going through a lot and my sister kept saying she was praying for me all week and then this happened." Robles was combating tendinitis (inflammation or irritation of a tendon), which kept her out of work as a waitress at Denny's in Rubidoux for several days. "I had been out for 10 days and for me, that's a big chunk of days. My tips are my paycheck; you know, if I don't work, I don't get paid," Robles said. As a single mother, Robles was working to provide opportunities for her children and for her grandchildren, she explained. She encouraged her youngest daughter, Liana, to continue with school - she attends Cal State San Bernardino - and Robles has worked hard waiting tables to continue to provide for her family. Financial stress kept her up at night and on the side she tried to sell Tupperware to raise additional funds, but wasn't having any luck; little did she know, her luck was about to change. Having heard about the weekly Farmer's Market in the Walgreen's shopping center in Grand Terrace, Robles and her sister visited one Tuesday night. That was when she first saw the Shop N' Win monthly coupon book. "I saw the coupons and saw a few of them were 'Buy one, get one' deals. Being a single mom, that's always good. I was thinking, 'I'm not going to win, but what can it hurt?'" Robles filled out the REC Center Farmer's Market coupon, turned it in, and went on with her daily routine. She'd forgotten she'd used the coupon until she was contacted by City News Group on her way to Santa Ana to have her son-in-law do some mechanical work on her used car. "It's a blessing, because I can pay rent and still have money left over to get things for my kids and grandkids," Robles said. “I have been blessed with the best kids. When I told her I'd won, she said she was so happy. A lot has been lifted from our shoulders." AdVantage Marketing and the City News Group are teamed together to continue to give back to this woman who has done so much for her family. All City News readers and family, friends and colleagues of Robles's are encouraged to visit the City News Group website at www.citynewsgroup.com and "Like" each of the City News Facebook pages by clicking “Like” at the top of the City News Group corporate webpage and any or all of the six City News Group web pages. Doing this will help Robles start 2014 off right. For every “Like” received, $1 will be donated to the Robles family, up to $1,000. For additional information call 909-825-1115.