Brighouse woman scoops £3,000 in hospice lottery

Marilyn Murphy, 69, scooped the top prize of £3,000 in the draw, which celebrated 15 years of the Martin House lottery.

Regular supporter Marilyn said: “I never thought about winning when I entered the Superdraw, I just thought it was a nice way of donating. I was completely surprised when I found out I’d won, because I’d actually forgotten all about it.

“It’s just wonderful. To say it’s been such a weird and horrible year, to have something nice like this happen, it was just so lovely. It absolutely made my day.”

She is still deciding how to spend her prize money, but is hoping to use it towards a holiday next year. There were more than 20 other winners in the draw, with a runner up receiving £1,000, two £500 third prizes and 20 £10 winners.

Martin House cares for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions from across West, North and East Yorkshire, providing respite stays, emergency care and end of life care, as well as supporting families in bereavement.

The Superdraw raised more than £18,000, along with a further £10,000 in donations, for Martin House, where fundraising has been hit hard by the pandemic, having to cancel or postpone events and it has had to explore different ways of fundraising. Zara Shillito, individual giving co-ordinator at the hospice, said: “The Superdraw has been a huge success for us, at a time when traditional fundraising has been very difficult for us. Our congratulations to Marilyn and the other winners, and we hope they enjoy their prizes.

“We’d also like to thank our sponsor HARIBO, whose support means the money raised goes directly to supporting families across our region who need our care.”