St Catherine’s Hospice lottery is a fantastic way for people to support their local hospice and care for their community whilst having a chance to win a weekly cash prize.
Since the local charity’s lottery began, members have helped raise over £14 million to provide expert care for terminally ill people and their families and friends across Sussex and Surrey. Every week the lottery contributes more than £17,000 towards St Catherine’s care.
Here Alfred and John who fundraise for St Catherine’s lottery share more about their work.
“John brought me onboard with LFS, one of the agencies that work with St Catherine’s lottery, a year ago and I’ve never looked back!” explains Alfred. “These days I don’t get up to earn money I get up to help people. I’m passionate about St Catherine’s and I really believe in the hospice’s
work.”
The feeling of using your skills for good is indescribable,” adds John. “Not many people can say they get genuine job satisfaction, but I wouldn’t ever want to change my job.”
On an average day, hospice lottery fundraisers knock on between 100-150
people’s doors, but they are always respectful
“We’re not about making a sale at all costs”, says John. “You have to be humble,” adds Alfred.
“A lot of people we speak to already know about St Catherine’s, so they don’t resent us asking for their help”, says John. “But we always train our team to remember that whenever they knock on a door or speak to someone at a venue where we’re advertising the hospice lottery, they have no idea what’s going on in that person’s life. I’ve experienced different responses from people on different days. If people are ever angry or frustrated with me knocking on their door, I remind myself it’s not personal.’”
The pair say it’s important to build a rapport with the community
“It’s all about leaving people with a good rapport”, explains Alfred. “I always give people reasons why it’s important they consider joining St Catherine’s
lottery: such as that we’re building a new hospice and that we’ll need more nurses in the future which will mean more care. Sometimes people tell me they’ll donate online instead. I always thank them as any donation helps, but the lottery is guaranteed income for the hospice and has long term benefits for their future, so I let people know that too.”
“I always stress the community aspect” adds John. “We’re all in it together. None of us knows if our family or someone on our street might need the hospice’s help in the future.”
“That’s exactly it – it’s about all of us helping each other together” adds Alfred. “It’s likely we’ll all know someone who is terminally ill in our lifetime so supporting the hospice has a long-term benefit, not just for us but for future generations.”
“It’s amazing that hospice lottery players pay for one day of hospice care a week” reflects John. “When I’m speaking to people about the lottery, I tell them they can be a part of that – that’s pretty special.”
To join St Catherine’s lottery and help provide hospice care for people in your community please click here or call 01293 447373.
