Make a smile lottery Celebrate their 250th Draw

Happy 250th Draw

Friday 22nd July marks our 250th draw!

Make a smile lottery began in 2017 with our first partner Wessex Heartbeat. The first draw took place on Friday 13th October 2017.

Fast forward to 2022 we have reached our 250th draw and are now supporting 15 different charities!

To celebrate the exciting occasion we are shouting about all things 250!

See below what 250 means to our charity partners that we support through our weekly lottery.

What does 250 mean to you?

Age UK Northamptonshire

£250 helps to provide essential training for staff, so that they can provide an effective service that is of a high standard to older people in Northamptonshire and enables them to service much-needed mobility equipment, making sure it is safe for their clients to use.

Age Well East

Age Well East need to recruit 250 new volunteers to reduce social isolation for 250 people before Christmas (the loneliest time of the year for some people).

Blesma, The Limbless Veterans

£250 would pay for a group of 10 limbless veterans to attend a local social inclusion activity.

The Medway Hospital Charity

£250 could pay for plants for their Dementia Therapy Garden.

Mid & North East Essex Mind

£250 could fund 10 counselling sessions for someone experiencing mental health problems. That’s 10 opportunities to help someone.

MS-UK

£250 could help to pay towards 15 counselling sessions with their highly trained MS Counsellors and just in the year 2021, they supported over 970 counselling sessions.

MS-UK is there for anyone affected by multiple sclerosis (MS), to empower them to live healthier and happier lives by improving the understanding of MS and providing support where it is needed most.

They put people living with MS at the heart of their work and your generosity ensures they can continue to provide high quality, professional services such as their helpline, counselling service and magazine.

Newlife The Charity for Disabled Children

£250 could help to fund specialist toys for their Play Therapy Pods.

The Rob George Foundation

250 is a very special number at the Rob George Foundation. The 2 at the front is a strong reference to the two objectives they have.

1. To provide practical and financial support to young people with life threatening or terminal illnesses.
2. To provide financial support to young people who demonstrate exceptional commitment and ability in the world of sport or performing arts but may be held back by their financial situation from pursuing their goals.

250 is a reminder that each year they receive approximately 250 applications from young people across the UK that need practical and financial support aligned to their objectives.

RSPCA East Norfolk Branch

£250 would enable them to neuter, vaccinate and microchip 3 rescued cats before they are rehomed. Like the handsome Donald here, who was sadly abandoned in a property when his owners moved out and is now settled in a lovely new home.

RSPCA Mid Norfolk & North Suffolk Branch

The RSPCA Mid Norfolk and North Suffolk Branch have rehomed their 250th animal of the year! These beautiful chickens were sadly found abandoned in a field in Norfolk. There were nine in total that came into their care and all of them are now safely in their forever homes. Two of them were even adopted by their RSPCA rescuer!

Tenovus Cancer Care

Tenovus Cancer Care’s Callback service supports cancer patients as they go through their treatment and Tenovus Cancer Care’s nurses call around 250 newly diagnosed cancer patients every month. They’re there with information, advice, practical and emotional support so that people affected by cancer can take back some control of their life, and live as well as possible with cancer.

Wessex Heartbeat

It costs £250 per day to pay for electricity, gas and water to run Heartbeat House, Wessex Heartbeat’s ‘home from home’ providing a place to stay for loved ones of patient’s undergoing heart procedures in the Cardiac Centre at Southampton General Hospital.

Your £1 Makes a Smile!

The support of our lottery players helps our charity partners raise vital funds. £1 may not seem like a lot these days, but you will be surprised at how far this can go in making a difference.

Together our lottery community helped raise over £100,000 so far this year for our charity partners!

We would like to thank our players for your continued support over the years. Without you we wouldn’t be able to make such a huge difference to our charity partners!