Love playing the lottery? These are the local causes that benefit

More than 32 million UK adults play the lottery every week. That’s an incredible 70 percent of the adult population. There’s plenty said about the popularity of casino games and sports betting in the online age, but the lottery remains far and away the most popular form of gambling. 

But what makes it so popular? The possibility of a seven figure jackpot is certainly part of the attraction. But if it was just the outside chance of scooping an unimaginable sum of money, we’d all have abandoned the lottery years ago in favour of something like Lotto Winner or 188 đánh đề online, to participate in games like Mega Millions and Powerball, where the jackpots run into the hundreds of millions.

Perhaps the reason the lottery remains so popular is because we all know that whether we win or not, that £2 we spend on a lottery ticket is never wasted. The National Lottery funds hundreds of worthwhile causes, and plenty of them are right on our doorsteps in and around Exeter. Here are just a few examples of charities that have benefited over recent months.

Exeter Communities Together

In February, Ubuntu Counselling Services received a £456,000 grant for the Exeter Communities Together project. The funding will allow for the staffing and delivery of a whole range of community events, including a diversity festival, a growing crops from home project, workshops and training activities over the next three years. 

Transitions

Also awarded in February, the Transitions project brings volunteers and mentors together with those who need them most in order to lead independent lives. Volunteers will go through extensive training and then be matched up on a one to one basis with some of the more vulnerable members of our community, to help them achieve independence through everything from cooking to household budgeting. The £190,000 grant will go towards staffing and training costs. 

Pre-loved distribution

Exeter’s Baby Bank Network is a vital resource for low income families. It provides all those baby essentials that can be so costly, from clothing to cots to pushchairs. The charity received a £10,000 lottery grant in March, which will be used to recruit a coordinator to manage the volunteers and the great work they do. This will increase the charity’s capacity and allow it to help more families in need. 

Park Life Heavitree Community Café

Heavitree is one of the most important community hubs in Exeter, and the Park Life Community Group works tirelessly to organise events and raise money for worthy causes. It’s particularly gratifying that the group has received a cash bonus of its own. A lottery grant of £254,000 was awarded in March, and will fund the creation of a not-for-profit café in the park. This will serve as a hub for community events. 

And many more

These are just a few of the local causes that benefit from your weekly wager on the lottery. Good luck next week, and even if you don’t become a millionaire, remember, that money you spent on the ticket did not go to waste.