St Giles Hospice has thanked people in the community for their generous support after its Summer Raffle raised more than £93,000 – one of the best-ever totals.
The money raised will be used to support the care of patients, and their families, living with a terminal illness.
Elinor Eustace, Income Generation Director at St Giles Hospice, said: “The whole team at St Giles would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who bought and sold tickets for our Summer Raffle.
“Our brilliant raffle players have made a huge contribution towards funding the care we offer to patients and their loved ones when they need us the most, and it’s always lovely to ring up the lucky winners and hear about how they will spend their winnings.”
Prizes in this year’s Summer Raffle included a jackpot of £8,000, a second prize of £2,000 and other cash prizes.
The second prize was won by David Macnulty, age 72, from Alrewas. Mr Macnulty, known as ‘Mac’, has supported St Giles since his mother was cared for during her final days at the hospice in October 2002. His late wife, Alison, was also supported by St Giles throughout her cancer journey back in 2020.
He said: “St Giles has played a big part in my life, since losing my mother and then my wife – life hasn’t been the same since Alison died.
“Taking the phone call and hearing that I’d won £2,000 was a bit of a shock I must say – you enter these things, but you never really expect to win them! It’s also my birthday next month, so what a fantastic way to celebrate!”
Mr Macnulty continued: “Before Alison died in 2020, we were due to take a trip to Australia to visit family. Unfortunately, on the Thursday before we were due to fly, Alison received her cancer diagnosis, so we had to cancel the trip.
“With my winnings, I’m going to make sure I rebook that trip to Australia again so I can spend Christmas Day on the beach with family – I’m going to turn it into an around the world trip with my sister, who was also in the car with me when I found out that I had won – Alison would be so happy that I’m making the trip again.”
The other top five prize winners came from Brownhills, Walsall, Stretton and Newhall.
St Giles runs two raffles each year in addition to the weekly lottery, with the Christmas Raffle due to launch in October 2022. It costs more than £10 million to provide the care St Giles offers every year and the raffles provide vital income for the hospice.
For more information about St Giles Hospice and the expert care it provides, please visit www.stgileshospice.com