I found out I had hit the jackpot with rollers in my hair
When Angela Danby bought a book of raffle tickets to support her local children’s hospice, she never thought she would be a winner - especially with rollers in her hair!
This however is exactly what happened on Friday, June 27, when she was preparing to go out for a meal to celebrate her daughter’s birthday and was surprised at her front door with the news she had won the £5,000 jackpot in the Derian House Summer Raffle.
Astounded Angela cried out: “I’ve got my rollers in!” before hugging staff from the hospice who had travelled to her home carrying giant numbers to break the good news.
Angela, a public speaker and former journalist, who lives in Rufford with her husband, Will, daughter Sophia, 22, son William, 24, and rescue cat George Walter, said: “I was just out in the garden when the Derian House team appeared holding up the £5,000 number cards.
“I was moving things around as we were preparing for the scarecrow competition the next day. I wasn’t expecting it, I had forgotten I’d entered.
“In fact I first thought it was a scam. I was getting ready to go out – I had no makeup on and I had my rollers in!”
She added: “The surprise couldn’t have come at a better time. We all went out for food for my daughter Sophia’s birthday, and we took out grandma too who is 90.
“We all had celebratory cocktails – it was a really lovely night.”
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What will she be spending the prize money on?
“I’m going to give some of the money to my children to help towards a deposit on their first home.
“But some of it will definitely be going back to Derian House. They do such amazing work. And when my dad passed away two years ago, he wanted some of the money from the funeral to go to Derian House. So we’re all big supporters of the hospice.
“I just can’t believe it, thank you so much.”
Sarah Proctor, Community Fundraiser at Derian House, added: “Angela’s surprise and joy at winning £5,000 was absolutely wonderful to see. Even George Walter the cat came to have a look.
“We hope she had a wonderful birthday meal with her daughter.
“The amount of money raised in the Derian House summer raffle will make a real difference to seriously ill children and young people from across the North West.
“It will cost £6 million to run Derian House this year and we rely heavily on the generosity of our supporters as we only receive a small amount of this in NHS funding.”
£1,000 was awarded to the second prize winner, £500 to the third prize winner, and 20 runners-up won prizes of £25 in the raffle that ran from March to June.