By More | Published 5 March, 2016
It’s been 20 years since the start of the LOROS lottery, the fundraising scheme that went on to generate hundreds of thousands of pounds for the Leicestershire and Rutland charity. Here, lottery manager Liz Singleton tells More why the cause means so much to her.
Easyjet took its first flight, Take That announced they were splitting up and the Spice Girls released their first single. All huge events to happen in 1996. None, of course, quite as important as the birth of LOROS Lotteries. Well, not to me, anyway.
I can’t believe that 20 years ago I was sitting in a small office in De Montfort Street, Leicester, planning the launch of the lottery.
Back then, LOROS had been running for just over 10 years. We were a small local charity and we needed to come up with an idea to raise regular funds.
There were only two of us in the lotteries team, wracking our brains to come up with ingenious ways to encourage the people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to give money on a weekly basis to their local hospice.
We had two desks, a phone and a photocopier; it was basic, to say the least. Now look at us: we have a team of 10 working in the office, with 100 collectors and 25 volunteers working in the community. I can’t help but feel so proud of all that we have achieved.
Mum died at LOROS. That’s how I got to know what a fantastic place it was. She died in the March of 1996 and I was working for them by June. It just felt right. Some people might say it was too soon after Mum dying, but me? I say it was as if mum guided me into the role.
Mum, or Mary Windram to everyone else, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the September before. She’d been in pain, so in some ways it was a relief to get the diagnosis, although extremely sad to hear it was terminal.
We didn’t know anything about LOROS when she was diagnosed; it was only through a doctor that we were put in touch. Mum went in for pain management originally. She ended up staying for three weeks before dying there.
Mum was apprehensive at first. She didn’t know what to expect and she was scared. But she was in so much pain and when she came to LOROS, it was as if the pain just went away. She liked it at the hospice. There was a comfort in knowing that somebody was there for her when she needed them.
We were close, me and Mum. When she died, I felt lost, empty and alone; the usual emotions anyone who has lost a loved one will know all too well. But losing Mum changed my perspective on life. I needed change.
I wanted a new job, and I got one. What was even better was the fact I found a job that helped others, just how we were helped when Mum was ill.
I volunteered at LOROS for a week before getting the job. The lottery was a new initiative, a new form of income generation, and I was excited about getting involved. As it happened, I got the assistant manager job at first but, after 12 months, the manager moved on and I was promoted.
Our first draw took place in October, 1996. By that time we already had 2,185 players.
I know it’s cliché but it was rewarding and it always has been, giving something back. I love the thought of me playing just a small part in knowing LOROS can continue to give the wonderful support we received.
Two decades after we started and we now have 24,500 players signed up. Last year, we raised about £550,000. That could pay for the annual cost of looking after 36 patients on our ward. I couldn’t be more proud.
Call me crazy, but I always like to think Mum’s still here, with me, as I work for LOROS.
Working for the hospice makes me feel closer to her. In a weird way, it helped me get over the loss of mum. I feel like I’m doing something positive in her memory.
I look back on that time when mum was at LOROS and although it was one of the hardest periods of my life, it also gave me such a fantastic opportunity. I was given the chance to really make a difference.
And here we are, 20 years on. This is the longest I’ve ever worked anywhere and LOROS has been such an amazing organisation to be part of.
I have such a highly committed and motivated team working round me, who all put LOROS first and continue to pull out all the stops to make sure the job gets done.
I’m so excited to give LOROS Lotteries the 20th birthday it deserves and celebrate everything we have achieved.
