Countdown on to first lottery draw
News release issued:
The countdown is on for the first weekly prize draw of the new Wyre Forest Community Lottery.
The first draw will take place at 6pm on Saturday 28 November, with a jackpot of £25,000 for matching a sequence of six numbers plus other prizes of £2,000, £250, £25 and three free tickets up for grabs. One lucky winner in the first draw will also win a fabulous Fitbit Charge 4.
Tickets cost £1 with 60p going towards local good causes, compared with just 28p in the pound for the National Lottery, available to buy on the Wyre Forest Community Lottery website.
Scores of local good causes and organisations will also win as a result of the new lottery. Around 35 official good causes will receive 50p in every pound spent by players who select them. Another 10p in every pound will go into a general good causes fund, with the remainder being put towards prizes, operating costs and VAT.
Players who do not wish to support a specific cause can still take part in the lottery with 60p of their ticket price going into a central good causes fund, which will be distributed by the council.
Wyre Forest District Council has appointed an established operator which works with other councils across the country to manage the lottery and will not receive any money from the scheme.
Cabinet member for Culture, Leisure and Community Protection Councillor Helen Dyke said: “The countdown is well and truly on and there is just over a week to go until the first weekly draw.
“This new initiative could potentially give local charities and groups doing such good work in our communities a new fund raising avenue. We all know this year has been like no other and many groups have suffered because they can’t raise funds in ways they have in the past.
“If you belong to an organisation which has not yet applied to become a good cause t’s not too late to apply. There’s no deadline and good causes can come online at any point.
“I hope this new lottery will provide a little extra cheer in what has been a dark and difficult year for us all. I wish everyone playing the lottery the very best of luck!”
More information on how to apply to become a good cause is available on the Wyre Forest Community Lottery page.
Other councils running local lotteries include Worcester City, Telford and Wrekin and South Staffs.