Cindy Smith, aged 60, has been playing the LOROS Lottery for around ten years, seeing her weekly entry as a simple and affordable way to regularly support the Hospice – with the added excitement of possibly winning. Cindy has shared with us why she has continued to play the LOROS Lottery:
“I signed up because it was an easy way to make a donation to LOROS while having the chance to win at the same time. I look at it as a £52 donation each year. It’s an easy way to support LOROS regularly and, if you happen to win along the way, that’s a lovely bonus.
I’ve never played expecting to win. It’s a game of luck, so when your number does come up, it’s a real shock!”
For Cindy, that shock came earlier this year when she won the Lottery’s top prize.
“I really wasn’t expecting it at all. It was such a lovely surprise. You know when you play that there’s always a chance you could win, but that’s never been the main reason I do it.”
What has kept Cindy playing for the past decade is knowing where her weekly Lottery contribution goes and the difference it helps LOROS make for local patients and families.
Cindy has a particularly personal understanding of that care. Her dad died in 2005 and her mum died in 2017 after receiving care on the LOROS inpatient ward.
“I’ve experienced LOROS care personally through my family, and it is exceptional. It’s the little extra things they do that stay with you. When my parents died, the nurses left a flower on their pillow. Nothing is too much trouble, and the time they spend making sure patients are fully cared for is incredible.
That’s why playing the Lottery means more to me than the chance of winning. I know what LOROS does for people and their families, and my Lottery entry is another way I can help make sure that care is there for others.”
Cindy’s support for LOROS extends beyond playing the Lottery. She volunteers at the Hospice every week and helps at fundraising events throughout the year. But her Lottery entry remains one of the simplest ways she can give regularly.
“It’s £1 a week and I see that as my £52 donation to LOROS each year. When lots of people do the same, those weekly contributions can make a real difference.
And you never know – you might get a lovely surprise like I did!
But whether you win or not, you know your money is going towards supporting LOROS. For me, that’s what playing the Lottery is really about.”
