A team of National Lottery winners from across the North West has been spending a morning down on the beach – but all in aid of a very worthy cause!
The nine winners have been collecting litter and ensuring our coastline remains pristine – as we all start to enjoy more freedom and the great British staycation!
The National Lottery winners, with a combined wealth of almost £20M, focused their litter-picking skills on New Brighton beach and the coast in Wirral, collecting more than 20 sacks of waste, ranging from plastic water bottles and picnic debris to ocean waste, old ropes, and plastics.
The winners worked alongside The 2 Minute Foundation, which received £19,410 of National Lottery funding in 2018 and 2019, to help with its expansion and its journey to achieve charity status.
The 2 Minute Foundation aims to educate people across the country about the coastline, the creatures which inhabit it, and what can be done to protect it.
Joining the clean-up team was Ben Woods, from Wirral, who scooped a £2.4M Lotto Jackpot, in 2004.
Ben said, “It is always great to be able to give something back in terms of our time.
“Myself and fellow winners support numerous charities throughout the year and we were all delighted to work with The 2 Minute Foundation on this latest project.
“It is something close to my heart as a father, to ensure our beaches are kept clean so everyone can enjoy them to their full potential.
“And it seems more appropriate than ever right now to be doing something like this in the year of the great British Staycation!”
Claire Giner, from The 2 Minute Foundation, added, “It has been a really successful morning and we have really enjoyed working with the local National Lottery winners to help make a difference to this stretch of important coastline.
“The 2 Minute Foundation is a registered charity which is devoted to cleaning up our planet 2 minutes at a time. We believe that simple, achievable acts can add up to make a great difference.”
Among the winners taking part with Ben, were: Emma Cartwright, from Liverpool, who scooped £6.5M on EuroMillions, in 2009; Annette and Andy Dawson, from Darwen, who won £1M on EuroMillions, in 2015; Ruth Breen and Simon Dart, from Wigan, who won £1M on EuroMillions, in 2014; Geoff and Hilary Bennette, from Blackburn, who won a £3.5M Lotto Jackpot in 2011 and Debbie Mather, from Preston, who won a £5M Lotto Jackpot in 2005.
By playing any National Lottery game, players generated an average of £36M each week for National Lottery-funded projects in 2020/21. This money helps support everything from the local charity making a difference where you live, through to helping our nation’s athletes win Olympic and Paralympic gold medals.
To date, over £43BN has been raised and distributed to National Lottery Good Causes through more than 635,000 individual grants.
Thanks to National Lottery players, over £1.2BN is being used by charities and organisations affected by the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, which includes over £600M in funding support from the National Lottery Community Fund which is being used to help groups best placed to support people and communities through the crisis.
Main image credit: Anthony Devlin
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