A great grandfather has collected the keys to a car from Bristol Street Motors after taking part in a raffle which raised more than £40,000 for St Oswald’s Hospice based in Newcastle.
The Vauxhall Corsa, which was donated by Bristol Street Motors Vauxhall Newcastle, was won by 86 year-old Lawrence Lawson from Killingworth, after he bought a ticket to support the hospice’s annual fundraising raffle.
The win is particularly poignant for former Granada TV employee, Lawrence, a father of two, grandfather of eight and great grandfather of four. His late wife, Hazel Lawson, who benefited from outpatient services offered by St Oswald’s Hospice prior to her death in 2012 and the couple were even invited as guests of honour when the Duke of Gloucester officially opened the hospice’s Outpatient Department.
In total the raffle, which is the second to benefit from the support of Bristol Street Motors and parent company, Gateshead-based Vertu Motors plc, raised £40,191- more than enough to pay the salary of a full time senior nurse and help towards meeting the hospice’s £7m annual fundraising target. The brand new car was donated to the charity and used to attend events across the region promoting the sales of raffle tickets, before being handed over to Mr Lawson.
Collecting his prize from Bristol Street Motors Vauxhall Newcastle, Lawrence said: “Since the passing of my wife, Hazel, I have continued to support St Oswald’s Hospice wherever possible and always buy a raffle ticket whenever it is fundraising. From my own experiences with the Hospice, I know it to be a wonderful place, which provides support to unwell people and their families when they need it most.”
David Crane, chief operations officer at Vertu Motors said: “This is the second year we have supported St Oswald’s annual car raffle and I’m pleased that we have been able to help the Hospice raise another significant sum.”
Anita Ball, director of income and marketing at St Oswald’s Hospice, said: “In order for us to raise the money we need to maintain our services, we need the backing of community-focused organisations such as Bristol Street Motors, so we are very grateful for its continued support.
“We’re ecstatic to have been able to raise over than £40,000. It is enough to fund the salary, plus additional costs, of one full time senior nurse working in our children’s, inpatient or outpatient services, which is crucial to our effective delivery of services here in the North East.”