Loteri Cymru has opened up the search for a new charity to support.
The all-Wales lottery, which was created to raise vital funds to support Welsh charities, is giving the people of Wales the power to choose its charity partner through its People’s Choice campaign.
The chosen charity will receive an up-front donation of £5,000 together with ongoing financial support thanks to lottery players, who for £1 a week help raise vital funds for charities in Wales, as well as try their luck at scooping the £25,000 weekly jackpot cash prize.
The new charity will join Loteri Cymru’s current partners LATCH – the Welsh Children’s Cancer Charity, Welsh Hearts, Youth Cymru and North Clwyd Animal Rescue (NCAR), who have collectively received close to £40,000 of donations in the last year alone.
To be in with the chance of making its line-up, charities are asked to send a short video (up to 90 seconds) by 18th January detailing why the people of Wales should vote for them to receive the support.
These videos will be used in the public vote which will launch on 25th January, St Dwynwen’s Day (Welsh Valentine’s Day), when the people of Wales will be asked to show some love to a charity that’s close to their hearts.
Phil Gerrish, marketing manager for Loteri Cymru, said: “2020 has been an extremely challenging year for charities in Wales. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, their income streams have been dramatically lost, yet they have continued to provide a vital lifeline to people in need. We’ve been proud to support our charities this year, in their time of need and are now looking to add another charity to our line up in 2021. We want it to be a charity that the people of Wales feel passionately about so we’re giving them the power to choose in our People’s Choice vote.
“To be in with the chance of making our line-up, all you need to do is send us a short video detailing why the people of Wales should vote for you to receive our support. This doesn’t need to be a professionally shot video but does need to be suitable for us to use on social media. You can be as creative as you like with your video content but remember this is what people will see when deciding on who to vote for, so aim to create an emotional connection.
“We know the last year has been incredibly tough on the third sector, so we really hope charities in Wales will get involved in this campaign to be in with the chance of receiving some much-needed financial support.”
One charity which Loteri Cymru has supported in 2020 is Welsh Hearts. Thanks to lottery players in Wales, Loteri Cymru has been able to donate five much-needed defibrillators across Wales in support of Welsh Hearts’ ambition to see a country where nobody is ever further than 100m away from a lifesaving defibrillator.
Sharon Owen, Director of Welsh Hearts, said: “This year has been incredibly difficult for us as a small, all-Wales charity. Our fundraising events are our biggest source of income, and many of our planned events have been postponed indefinitely, or cancelled altogether.
“We are extremely grateful to Loteri Cymru for their support this year in helping us buy defibrillators to distribute across Wales. Every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest and we hope it’s reassuring to the local community to know it’s there just in case.”
If you would like to give your charity the chance of benefitting from Loteri Cymru support in 2021, please send your video to [email protected] by 18th January.