£1,000 wins spread Christmas cheer for two charity lottery supporters

Two lucky supporters have each won £1,000 in the Sherwood Forest Hospitals Charity Lottery, just in time for Christmas. 

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust runs King’s Mill, Mansfield Community and Newark hospitals and is supported by the Sherwood Forest Hospitals Charity which helps the Trust to improve patients' lives. It does this by funding projects and services above and beyond what the NHS can fund. 
  
Some of the projects funded by the charity over the past year include £24,000 towards an ultrasound scanner to improve care for inpatients, £7,250 for a bladder scanner for the renal unit and £1,020 towards birthing boxes for the maternity unit.  

The lottery, which was launched in July this year, gives people the chance to support the charity on an ongoing basis for the small amount of £5 per month, whilst also being in with the chance to win weekly cash prizes of up to £25,000. 

71-year-old Carol Livesly lives in Derbyshire but receives treatment at King’s Mill Hospital. She joined the lottery in the summer after attending an appointment and hadn’t thought about it since.  

She said: “I joined the lottery in the summer as I thought it was a worthy cause, and one very close to my heart. I didn’t really think about it again, but then me and my husband returned from a trip to London to see our grandchildren, to find a letter telling us we’d won £1,000.  

“I am absolutely over the moon to have won this money – it is my husband’s 70th birthday next year so we’re going to put the money towards a nice trip away for the two of us.” 

Another lucky winner is Sharon, from Kirkby-in-Ashfield. She signed up to the lottery after attending an appointment at the hospital with her dad, saying that she thought it was a nice way to give back to the hospital.  

She said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the letter saying I’d won. I never usually win anything, but so far, I have had a £10 win on the Sherwood Forest Hospitals Lottery, and now £1,000! I’m not sure what I’m going to spend it on yet, but it will be put to good use.” 

Since it launched in July the lottery has held 23 draws, paid out cash prizes to 98 people, and has brought in nearly £28,000 to the Sherwood Forest Hospitals Charity. 

Richard Mills, Chief Financial Officer at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: "Donating to the Sherwood Forest Hospitals Charity is a brilliant way to give something back and helps to fund equipment to provide an even better experience for our patients. With the current financial situation at the NHS, making every penny count is more important than ever, and the Trust charity is a huge part of this. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to sign up to the lottery – your support really is appreciated.” 

Details of how to sign up to the lottery are available on the Trust’s website. Winning tickets are published on the lottery results page on the website every Saturday at 5.45pm.