Big Middlesbrough Lottery win for lucky local

A lucky Middlesbrough resident has scooped a big win on a community lottery – the second substantial prize in the last two months.

Kerri Brems, 33, of Hemlington in Middlesbrough won £2,000 in the latest draw of the Middlesbrough Lottery.

Kerri said: “I’m buzzing!

“I thought it was a joke at first, until I logged into the website to see that I had actually won.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic. I would go on holiday but I’ve just come back from one! So I’m going to put my winnings away for a rainy day”. 

The Middlesbrough Lottery is a community-focused lottery which lets players choose a local good cause to support when they buy their ticket.

Kerri chose to support ARCH Teesside, a specialist sexual violence service providing practical, emotional advocacy and therapeutic support to men, women and children. 

Kerri actually works for the charity herself. She said: “Of course I chose to support ARCH Teesside, it’s a cause that’s close to my heart. So far we’ve raised almost £1,000 and the lottery money is brilliant for supporting our clients.

“I think the Middlesbrough Lottery in general is great. It’s great for charities to have local money going back to local people and residents can really see it working in their communities. That’s the reason we joined up in the first place”. 

The Middlesbrough Lottery is a sustainable fundraising solution for good causes based in Middlesbrough. Ran by Middlesbrough Council in partnership with lottery company Gatherwell, it provides an alternative funding stream for charities, community clubs, sports clubs and schools. 

Over sixty causes including Middlesbrough Foodbank, Boro Angels, Friends of Fairy Dell and Kader FC have signed up and are receiving regular funding thanks to the lottery. The lottery is on track to raise over £37,000 for its causes this year.

Half of the players’ ticket price goes straight to their chosen cause and 10% goes to funding cultural activities in Middlesbrough, like Orange Pip Market. 

Deputy Mayor of Middlesbrough, Cllr Mieka Smiles, said: “Congratulations to Kerri! It’s wonderful to see Middlesbrough residents winning big prizes on our lottery.

“Local good causes are benefitting so much from the Middlesbrough Lottery, and it’s great that players are also benefitting too. 

“The lottery is continuing to grow, and the causes involved are using their newfound funds for important projects which benefit Middlesbrough as a community.

“If you’re part of a good cause that hasn’t signed up yet, come and get involved!”

Anyone wanting to sign up their cause to the Middlesbrough Lottery can do so for free in the 'good causes' section of the website.