Generous Lotto Winner Funds Life-Saving Leaflets
Last Updated: Thursday 24th September 2020, 11:03
Lotto winner Peter Congdon has stepped forward to fund the production of almost a million leaflets aimed at warning new parents about the dangers of sepsis in young children. Kind-hearted Peter offered to foot the £5,700 bill after Melissa Mead, whose one-year-old son William died from the blood poisoning illness after being misdiagnosed, appealed for financial help on social media.
Peter scooped £13.5 million in the Lotto draw on 27th May 2015 and lives in Truro, Cornwall, less than ten miles away from the Meads’ home in Penryn. He was touched by the plight of the family and offered to pay the printing costs for the leaflets, created by The UK Sepsis Trust, that set out a series of potential sepsis symptoms. They will now be added to packs given to parents of newborn babies across the UK to raise awareness of the illness, which an NHS watchdog this week suggested should be treated with similar urgency to heart attacks.
Melissa praised Peter’s contribution, telling the Daily Mail, “it means nearly a million new parents will know the signs and symptoms of sepsis and also what it is. If we can save just one person’s life it is all worth it.” Peter said that he was “pleased to be in a situation to help.”
It is not the first charitable donation Peter has made with his Lotto windfall, as he also gifted £1 million to the Merlin MS Centre in his home county. His late wife Rosemary, who suffered from multiple sclerosis for 30 years before her death, had been looked after by staff at the centre. The great-grandad also provided a £33,000 Land Rover Discovery Sport as a raffle prize to raise funds for the facility.
Many lottery winners choose to use their newfound wealth to support their favourite charities, but even without hitting the jackpot, you are helping fund good causes across the UK just by playing National Lottery games. Of every £1 staked on Lotto, EuroMillions, Thunderball or Lotto HotPicks, 28p is distributed to worthy projects around the UK. You can find out more at the Lottery Good Causes page.
This weekend’s Lotto jackpot is worth £11.2 million and you can buy Lotto tickets online or from authorised retailers until 7:30pm on the day of the draw. Good luck!
