Northumberland Lottery celebrates first anniversary
11 May 2021 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
www.northumberlandlottery.co.uk
Northumberland Lottery celebrated its first anniversary this week having raised almost £40k for good causes in the county.
Led by Northumberland County Council the Lottery is a weekly draw which benefits community groups across Northumberland.
In its first year almost 65,000 tickets have been sold and £8,475 has been paid out in cash prizes ranging from £25 to £250, whilst one player won £2,000.
A total of £38,919 has been raised for good causes, with more than 100 community groups signed up to the initiative.
Tickets for the lottery cost just £1 a week and up to 60% of each ticket sold goes direct into community groups across the county. Players can nominate a group of their choice with 50p of every £1 ticket going to their specified group and the remaining 10p is distributed to other local groups.
It’s free and easy for local not-for profit organisations to sign up to the lottery and start raising funds and just 20 ticket sales a week can raise £500 annually.
Animal rescue centre in Cramlington, Dogs First, has raised £2,000 from the Lottery since being involved from the start.
Pat Heard, of Dogs First said: “The funding we have raised through the lottery has been invaluable and has allowed us to pay things such as vet bills.
“The demand for our services has definitely increased during the pandemic. Already this year we have re-homed 70 dogs, and in the whole of last year we rehomed 102 dogs. Many of them are lockdown puppies where the owners, after a few months, have realised they can’t look after them, or we are getting older dogs where the owners were getting a puppy and didn’t want to have more than one dog.
“The Northumberland Lottery is so easy to join and is a great way for charities to raise much-needed funds and the people who play are also getting a chance to win. We have had a couple of £250 winners!”
Teresa Palmer, head of procurement shared services at the county council said: “The launch of the Northumberland Lottery couldn’t have come at a better time for many organisations as much of their normal routes of fundraising came to a stop with the pandemic.
“It is fantastic to see so many community groups signing up, it’s quick and easy to do and we would urge organisations, not already in the scheme, to join and start raising money today!”
www.northumberlandlottery.co.uk