LOTTERY CHEQUE BONANZA FOR NORTH EAST CHARITIES

North East players of the new Postcode Lottery have raised £88,500 for local charities and good causes.

GoodFund announced this figure yesterday at the launch of its Charity Projects competition in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Manuela Wendler, GoodFund’s executive manager said: “The Postcode Lottery has raised this money after only ten draws, with currently over 30,000 ticket subscriptions in the region. As the charity lottery grows, this will mean even more money for local charities and good causes.”

The Charity Projects enables people in the region to nominate charities and project that could receive up to £10,000 worth of funding. The beneficiaries have to be based in the North East and be active in areas such as children’s wellbeing, local development, poverty relieve or nature and wildlife conservation.

GoodFund has also six permanent beneficiaries, that will regularly receive donations. Children North East, Groundwork and the Evening Chronicle Sunshine Fund all received cheques in the amount of £8,850 each. Just for Kids and Make A Child Smile received £4,425.

A pilot project with Northumberland Wildlife Trust also received £3,920 earlier this year, which will fund a conservation grazing project involving rare breed Exmoor ponies.

In 2005, the Clinton Foundation became the
50th beneficiary of the Postcode Lottery in the Netherlands, which last week handed out cheques worth €210m (around £143.5m) to national and international charities.

In a video interview shown at GoodFund’s Charity Projects launch, ex US president Bill Clinton expressed his support to the Postcode Lottery and its charitable activities.