A local resident who has devoted her life to encouraging more people to volunteer has scooped £250 in the city's Community Lottery.
The Worcester Community Lottery (www.worcesterlottery.org) gives players the chance to sign up for entry into a weekly draw, and to choose which local causes they want to benefit from their subscription. The list includes youth clubs, sports clubs, arts organisations and medical charities.
Tickets cost £1 each - of which 60p goes to good causes (50p to the player's chosen good cause and 10p to a community fund). Players have a one-in-50 chance of winning a prize, up to a maximum of £25,000.
Sally Ellison, who runs local volunteering organisation Worcester Community Action (www.worcestercommunityaction.org.uk), signed up for the Community Lottery when it launched just over a year ago.
"I was keen to join the Community Lottery because the money goes to local organisations; I think that's one of the benefits compared to other lotteries," she says.
Worcester Community Action, which recruits volunteers and matches them up with local opportunities, is one of a number of charities which receives support from the lottery.
At the outset of the pandemic several volunteers stepped forward to help deliver groceries and prescriptions to residents who were shielding. Sally now says that new opportunities for volunteers are starting to emerge – including gardening, befriending and more social activities.
"A number of people who were previously volunteering while they were furloughed from jobs are now going back to work. That means that new opportunities are opening up for volunteers in Worcester, so now is a good time to get in touch with us," says Sally.
"I'd also encourage organisations who need volunteers to contact us.We are in touch with several willing and able people who are ready to give some time to support good local causes."
How to play the Worcester Community Lottery
Since the Worcester Community Lottery was launched in April 2019 it has raised over £32,000 for local good causes.
Players can sign up for a subscription at www.worcesterlottery.org. When you register, you will be asked to choose a local good cause to benefit from your ticket purchase or to opt to support the community fund – which the City Council will distribute to good causes.
Tickets cost £1 each, which is divided as follows:
- 60p to good causes (50p to the player's chosen good cause / 10p to the community fund)
- 20p to the prize fund
- 16p to the lottery management company for administration and management
- 4p VAT.
The top prize available in the weekly draw is £25,000. Results are posted at www.worcesterlottery.org, on Facebook at Worcester-Community-Lottery and on Twitter at @WorcesterLotto. Winners are contacted directly.
