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Janet was a winner and you could be too!

Janet Valentine, who lives in Oldham, had a great start to 2026 when she discovered that she’d won £3,250 from our lottery.

“It was such a lovely surprise,” Janet told us. “I was in the car with my husband when I got the call. I thought I might have won £100 or £500, so when Wendy said it was £3,250, I was over the moon!”

Janet hasn’t decided exactly how she’ll spend her winnings yet, but she’s already planning to give back a little to the Hospice.

“It’s come at a good time after Christmas and New Year. We’ll take our time deciding, but I want to donate some of it back to the Hospice.”

Janet first came across our Lottery team at a local supermarket and signed up in September 2018. She’s been a regular player ever since.

“I heard about the great work the Hospice does and it was a nice way to support it. I don’t notice it coming out of my bank account. It’s the price of a couple of cups of coffee – it’s a small sacrifice to make for supporting Willow Wood, and you could win big like me!

“It’s important to me. I’ve never been in a situation where I’ve had any friends come into a hospice but you never know when someone you know or love could be in that position.”

Janet’s long-standing connections with education in Tameside, including time at Tameside College and Ashton Sixth Form College, where she’s currently a governor, mean she’s known Willow Wood for years.

“I’ve been aware of the hospice for many years,” she said. “I’ve visited before and met some of the staff to get a feel for what they do. People feel hospices might be places that are not pleasant to visit but this place is nothing like that – it’s just so lovely, positive and friendly.”

Her advice to anyone thinking about joining the Lottery?

“If you can spare a pound or two every week, definitely give it a go. You’ll be doing something really good, and you never know – you could be the next winner!”

Join Janet and support local patients

By playing the Willow Wood Hospice Lottery, you’re not only in with a shot at our exciting rollover prize and our weekly £1,000 jackpot, you’re helping fund the vital care our teams provide to local people with life-limiting illnesses.

For just £1 a week, you could win up to £25,000 and make a real difference in your community.

Become a lottery member today by going to https://willowwood.org.uk/lottery/

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Marie receives early birthday gift by striking lottery gold

One of our team members at Willow Wood recently struck lottery lucky, leaving Royal Mail with one less winning lottery cheque to deliver!

This stroke of good fortune also gave Hospice Lottery Manager, Diane Austin-Hughes, the fantastic job of delivering the good news and a cheque for £1,000 to the winner in person.

“I send out cheques each week to our lottery winners, but rarely do I get to see the surprise and joy on their faces. So, when I realised that our Quality, Governance and Compliance Lead, Marie Gamlin, had won the jackpot, I was thrilled!”

As for Marie, the lucky recipient of the winning cheque, her win made for a double celebration as it came just days before her birthday!

“I thought Diane was joking at first when she handed me a cheque for £1,000. I thought perhaps she was asking for some advice on lottery risk assessments. When the news finally sank in, I knew immediately that I wanted to spend some of the money to treat my family to a lovely meal together to celebrate the win and my birthday,” said Marie.

Marie added: “I’m a winner in other ways too, as I get to see first-hand the services my lottery membership funds help to provide.”

By pledging £1 in our lottery each week, you are entered into our draw to win one of 40 prizes and have a chance of pocketing anything from £5 to £1,000! While you wait to see if you’ve been lucky each week, your entry fee will be working hard to help us provide care for patients from your community.

If you would like to sign up for our lottery, click here.