It’s fun to play, has a vital role in supporting our expert care and this June it’s celebrating 25 years, so raise a cheer to the St Luke’s weekly lottery and the difference it helps us make across the community!
As our lottery notches up its quarter century of being a key part of our fundraising portfolio, we want to highlight the tremendous good it does. And who better to hear from than one of our dedicated lottery players, who knows from personal experience how our charity is there for patients and loved ones alike, helping them through a very challenging time?
Roger Flynn from Woodford, Plympton, started playing after St Luke’s cared for his 39-year old son, Paul, following his throat cancer diagnosis.
He said: “When Paul was being looked after by the team at Turnchapel, the weather was exceptional. He used to love nothing more than being taken in a wheelchair out to the end of the garden, overlooking Jennycliff Bay. It was a beautiful view. So much so, that we scattered his ashes in the Bay, overlooking St Luke’s.”
Our lottery currently raises over £800,000 each year for care for people like Paul. This type of generous fundraising means all our patients can be looked after free of charge by our specialist teams and it also enables us to come alongside those close to them, providing bereavement support to help them through the days ahead, making the heartache of losing their loved one that little bit easier to bear.
Roger has been supported by Mary Barnes, St Luke’s lottery collector and family member of one of our patients. She said: “St Luke’s is not like a hospital, although they’re giving you top quality treatment. It is like being in, to me, a luxury hotel. You never know what the situation or what the future holds for anybody. Doing the St Luke’s lottery is cheaper than the cost of a cup of coffee, and the more support, the longer they can continue to do their excellent work.”
Having grown to 14,000 players, any of whom can scoop the weekly top prize of £1,000, one of the 31 other prizes, or even up to £10,000 in a rollover jackpot, the lottery is going from strength to strength with people able to play online.
Every week the lottery computer allocates players a unique lottery number for every ticket, and they can choose to play as many as they like on a regular subscription. The lucky winners receive their cheque in the post and enjoy
their prize, knowing their lottery fee is supporting such a worthwhile local cause.
Thanks to the regular income it provides, running the lottery enables our charity to plan for the future as the need for our compassionate care increases.
Many happy returns to the game and a huge thank you to all our players!
