Lottery 'Big Draw' raises over £55,000 for Hospice

Congratulations Mrs Spittle,OLD HILL!

A significant date in the Mary Stevens Hospice Lottery calendar is the annual 'Big Draw', and the seventh draw of its kind took place on Wednesday 29th July 2009.

As with the weekly Lottery draw, a £1 subscription was required to gain entry into the Draw, which still produced the 43 weekly winners who received prizes ranging from £10 up to the Jackpot £2,000 but an additional prize of either a Peugeot 107 or £6,000 in cash as an alternative, was also available to the lucky 'Big Draw' winner.

The tickets were automatically issued to existing Lottery members and they were also readily available to the general public at over 80 venues around the area since April, to ensure as many people as possible had the opportunity to partake in this annual event.

Public response has been outstanding, and combined with the generosity of our existing Lottery members’, the promotion resulted in 68,105 tickets being entered into the 'Big Draw'.

We were privileged to have Lisa Maguire from Pertemps and Mr George Brown, Area Manager for Aldi in attendance (pictured right), along with Gary Phillips, Store Manager of the Wollaston branch, who was given the responsibility of pressing the button that activated the draw and which revealed, Mrs Spittle, from Old Hill, as the 2009 winner. A jubilant, ninety two year old, Mrs Spittle elected the cash alternative and consequently is in receipt of a Cheque for £6,000.

In view of the current economic climate, the massive display of public generosity surpassed our expectations, with the number of tickets sold exceeding last year’s sales by 6,500 tickets, which is the highest amount ever generated by Mary Stevens Hospice in any of its 'Big Draws'.

An indication as to the level of success achieved by the Lottery Office became apparent when it was confirmed that entering 68,105 tickets into the Draw' was in fact a record number never before achieved by any Hospice in a 'Big Draw', and naturally, it is a record Mary Stevens Hospice Lottery Staff are extremely proud to hold.

A considerable amount of time and hard work goes into the 'Big Draw', to make it a success, but without the support and generosity of the public, the promotion would not have achieved the level of success that it has, and the number of tickets sold suggests we have succeeded in raising the profile of both the Hospice and its Lottery.

The astronomical success of the seventh Lottery 'Big Draw' is of huge significance to the Mary Stevens Hospice, since it has achieved a large proportion of the £2.2million required annually by the Hospice to enable it to continue the exceptionally high standards of care and support it provides for its patients suffering from terminal and life-limiting illnesses.

A REALLY BIG THANK YOU TO ALL WHO TOOK PART, AND IF YOU DID'NT WIN THIS YEAR, WE WISH YOU ALL THE BEST FOR NEXT TIME ROUND!