As the volunteer promoter of the 250 Club small lottery, it is always a real pleasure to receive new applications to join the Club. Now is the ideal time to join and be entered into both our 2019 Draws in February and July – the next draw is on Friday 22 February 2019. Join before 31 January to ensure you are included.
Formed in 1981, the Club this year celebrated raising over £250,000 during its lifetime. We use the funds as a Third Party Contributing payment to a Landfill Operator, meaning this quarter of a million from the 250 Club has enabled us to unlock a further £2.5million towards habitat restoration projects across Norfolk. You can read more about the projects funded here.
We are now aiming to increase the number of tickets that enter each draw and are extending the ways we are promoting the Club, so that more members and visitors to our centres are aware of the benefits that joining the Club offers.
Surprisingly only about 5% of the members of Norfolk Wildlife Trust are members of the Club. We hope that more will be prepared to venture a small investment - the equivalent of just £1 a month – to enjoy the chance to win prizes and assist the Trust in securing funding for projects which benefit our wildlife.
Whilst many members only want to have one ticket, we do hope that more will be multiple ticket holders (and it is interesting, though not surprising that those with more tickets seem to win more often!). Some are gifted to family and friends, often as Christmas or Birthday presents.
Subscriptions are paid by setting up a standing order of £12 a ticket, and we have two draws a year, in February and July, with the top prize each time of £250. There are over 100 other cash prizes in each draw all based on a 1 in 15 chance of winning.
Over the years the 250 Club processes have gone from handwritten registers and draws being made by using numbered wooden balls to computer based systems.
I have been the volunteer Promoter since 2010, and an active supporter of the Trust for nearly thirty years. For nine of those years I was a Trustee, which gave me such a close insight to the strategic decisions that are made by the Trust to address the increasing pressures on our wildlife, ranging from increasing public engagement through the Cley Marshes visitor centre to the wider Living Landscapes strategy for the whole county.
All these plans need funds, and working closely with staff to try and expand the support we can give the Trust through running this small lottery is so worthwhile.
Supporting the 250 Club is an affordable way to contribute to key conservation projects, and I hope to welcome many new subscribers in 2019.
With many thanks to the existing 250 Club ticket holders, especially to those who have responded with kind words, and with a sincere hope that many more will join us.
Dick Wingate is the 250 Club Promoter.
If you wish to check whether you are already in the 250 Club, please contact the NWT membership team.