There are many of us out there that say we would help out with local charities or give away more if we won the lottery, but how many of us really do when that lucky ticket comes around? We look at the lotto lucky punters that go above and beyond in giving back.
Welsh couple won £1m EuroMillions prize in 2013 and now raises money for charity and help renovate run-down buildings
It was almost a decade ago that Lyn and Ian bought a EuroMillions ticket whilst on a weekend caravan trip. 8 years on and 24 years of marriage later they’re still giving back to their local community.
The couple confesses that at first they just kept working as they didn’t want to let their colleagues down. Lyn carried on working at the hospital and made sure all his patients were OK before retiring, while Ian worked for the Welsh Government and decided to stay on for another five years in order to finish a long-term development project with the team.
Over the past decade, they have helped out numerous charities as well as renovating a 400-year-old mill. Their latest charity endeavour involves honouring those we lost over the past year, with the Forever Flowers campaign to help out City Hospice in Cardiff.
Make the Beach Great Again say Lottery Winners!
The topic of polluted beaches is a story never far from the headlines, with more and more discarded rubbish being dumped by the tide on a daily basis. To try and combat this. lottery winners around the UK have teamed up to clean their community’s favourite sunbathing spots. We followed a few happy helpers on their cleanup.
The project, titled the 2 Minute Foundation, was a response from the National Lottery Good Causes initiative for tackling the ever-growing problem of washed-up debris on our local beaches. Clean up underwent in Cornwall, Merseyside and West Sussex, with plans to start in Devon.
However, what’s changing is what we’re finding on Britain’s beaches. It used to be that seaside litter was a direct correlation and effect. We have a reasonably sunny hot Saturday, everyone flocks to the beaches and there’s a lot more cleanup to do the following day. However more and more litter pickers are finding they need to be aware of what is coming from the waves lapping at the shore, than the beer bottles and half-empty fish and chips tubs tossed aside by sated sunbathers.
Lottery winning volunteers are increasingly finding themselves set to the task of finding smaller, but no less troublesome microplastics, netting, fishing wire and “nurdles.” Tiny pieces of plastic resembling small, usually clear coloured synthetic peas. These mini rounded pellets are key in the creation stage of plastic bottles and other products, but a lot of them fall foul to accidental spills during shipping transport and end up in the ocean instead. What compounds this issue is that these troublesome kernels tend to look a lot like a tasty treat to both fish and waterfowl, whilst being able to float on the water, resembling a swirling vortex of plastic simulating the appearance of roe or algae.
Sieve in hand, lottery winners around the country are helping keep Britain’s beaches clean of litter, no matter the size of the scrap. To help decrease littering and help combat plastic waste on beaches people are encouraged to try the 2-minute beach clean challenge to see what can be picked up by helpful patrons on a 2-minute walk.
Lottery millionaires roll up their sleeves to help expand Donkey Farm
A team of National Lottery winners spent a productive day at the ‘Mini Donks’ farm in Norwich, which desperately needed more space to meet the growing demand for visits to see adorable tiny donkeys. Among them was Southend couple Tony and Deb, who won a million on the National Lottery in 2017. They were joined by 9 other lotto winners, including £3M scratchcard winners Susan and Barry, who won back in 2016.
Mini Donks also received £70,780 of National Lottery funding to help with the expansion. The Farm takes friendly miniature donkeys to community groups, voluntary organisations, and special needs groups across the East.
Charity founder Sarah McPherson was grateful for the support, noting that the addition of Little Jack Rabbit who was born last August, meant that an expansion was sorely needed. Commenting that “this really will make a huge difference to the organisation.”
Lottery Winner loves the charity farm life
A UK lotto winner has become smitten with the simple life after getting involved with her local community. Retired Scot Libby has long been a charity supporter, but when the pandemic hit she realised that lending a hand was just as vital.
She found her calling in farmwork after helping out a local charity that aims to teach farming and husbandry skills to any and all who wish to pursue a career in food production and livestock maintenance. The charity was a beacon in 2020, gaining support and funding from the local community and those stuck at home who wished to volunteer their services for the greater good.
The Scottish charity is hoping to expand the number of people it can involve and support and has received £9,656 in funds from The National Lottery Community Fund.