Give A Gift and become a lottery member!

You’ve got to be in it to win it – that’s the message from last week’s St Catherine’s Hospice lottery winner, who scooped the jackpot just two months after joining up!

Deborah Hall saw the lottery canvassers’ kiosk whilst out shopping at Preston Market in December. She decided to sign up there and then to show her support for the much-loved local charity – but never expected to win.

Just two months later Deborah’s number came up – making her the winner of the £2,000 top prize!

Now she and the hospice are encouraging new members to join the lottery as part of the Give A Gift campaign with the Lancashire Evening Post, set up to celebrate the charity’s 30th anniversary.

The campaign centres around 30 things the hospice would like the community’s help to achieve this year – with one of the ‘gifts’ on the list asking for 300 new lottery members. To join, simply click here now!

Deborah, from Ribbleton who plans to put the money into savings towards a new car, said: “I was completely shocked when I found out I’d won – I never win anything at all!

“When I saw the team out in the market that day I just thought ‘why not?’ I’ve supported various charities in the past and this seemed like a good way to do my bit for the hospice. I’ve known some friends and family who have accessed their services so although I’ve not had any direct experience I know how important the work they do is.

“I’d never even thought about winning when I did it, but I must have had some beginners luck! It just shows it can happen to anyone. By joining up now you’ll not only be giving yourself the chance of taking home a prize, you’ll also be giving a much-needed birthday present to St Catherine’s.”

The St Catherine’s Hospice lottery was the first one set up in England back in February 1993, eight years after the hospice opened its doors. Since then, hospices around the country have followed suit, raising vital revenue at the same time as giving local people the chance to win a host of cash prizes.

For just £1 a week, members of the St Catherine’s scheme can scoop the jackpot of £2,000 – as well as 34 other cash prizes, including the third prize of £150 which rolls over each week it is not won, up to a maximum of £5,100.

It costs £5m to run St Catherine’s Hospice each year – of which £3.7m must be raised through charitable giving, proving just how important the lottery is.

Sheila Kennard, head of promotions at St Catherine’s, said: “The lottery is one of the hospice’s most important and reliable sources of income, raising around £500,000 each year.

“Knowing we have more than 15,000 members playing each week is so important because it helps the charity to budget and plan for the future – something which can be very hard in the unpredictable world of fundraising.

“If we can attract 300 new lottery members this year, we can raise an extra £15,600 to support the specialised care of the hospice.”

In the first year alone, meeting the target of 300 new members this would raise enough money to pay for more than 300 community visits from one of the hospice’s Clinical Nurse Specialists, allowing people to receive care in their own home. It could also pay for 16 days of piped oxygen on the hospice’s in-patient unit – helping to make life more comfortable for patients with breathing difficulties – or more than 1,000 complementary therapy sessions for patients or carers, helping to reduce stress and anxiety whilst promoting relaxation and well-being.

Sheila added: “There are many different ways the funds raised through our lottery are spent – all with the same aim of supporting people affected by conditions like cancer, heart failure and motor neurone disease to have a better quality of life. We’ve got canvassers out and about around the area and you can also sing up online or over the phone. By becoming one of our new 300 members you’ll help us to carry on being there for local people when it really matters most.”

To join click here to sign up now, email lottery@stcatherines.co.uk, call the team on 01772 695298 or keep a look out for the cavassers in the area. For more information about the Give A Gift campaign – including the full list of 30 birthday presents the hospice is trying to achieve during 2015 with the community’s support – click here, email giveagift@stcatherines.co.uk or call 01772 695290.

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