A CHARITY which provides home care to terminally ill people has launched its own lottery, which should provide a weekly £25,000 jackpot.

Herriot Hospice Homecare, which provides care to people in Hambleton and Richmondshire, will receive 50p from every £1 lottery ticket sold.

The venture will be managed in partnership with Unity Lottery. There will be a draw made every week with a maximum prize of £25,000 if all six numbers are drawn, £1,000 for five matching numbers, £25 for four and £5 for three.

The lottery aims to help the charity raise the amount it needs every year to provide its services for free, which amounts to more than £750,000.

The “hospice without walls” was established in 1992 and covers an area of 1,000 square miles of North Yorkshire, including some of the county’s remotest communities. It provides care to people from a multi-disciplinary team and works in partnership with hospitals, social services, doctors and nurses.

Karen Wilkinson-Bell, who took over the role of chief executive of Herriot Hospice Homecare several weeks ago, said: “In order to ensure all services can be provided free of charge we must raise more than £750,000 each year, so we are continually looking at new ways of bringing money in to the charity.

“We are very excited to be launching our own lottery, which will not only give us 50p for every £1 ticket sold, but also give people supporting us the chance to win up to £25,000 each week.

“It is easy to take part in the lottery and we hope as many people as possible will support us.

“Even buying a £1 ticket each week will make such a difference and by supporting us in this way you will be playing a vital part in the care that is provided to those in Richmondshire and Hambleton with life limiting illnesses.”

To start playing the lottery people can request a Freepost entry leaflet from Herriot Hospice Homecare so they can fill in their personal details, indicate how many entries they would like each week and either complete the direct debit instruction or enclose a cheque. It can also be done via the Unity Lottery website, www.unitylottery.co.uk

People and organisations interested in making donations to Herriot Hospice Homecare can call 01609 777413. Further information on the type of donations that can be made is also available on the charity’s website www.herriothh.org.uk