Child ward gift from generous pub punters

Management and staff at Churchills Public House on Topping Street held a top prize Christmas raffle with the aim of raising £500 for the Children’s Ward at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

But people’s generosity surpassed all expectations, and staff were able to make a larger-than-expected donation when they visited earlier this month.

Nicki Walker said: “It all started around the end of November when we started selling tickets.

“The landlady originally wanted to raise £500, but when more money kept coming in we just thought we’d see how far we could go.

“The raffle was drawn on December 21, and we can’t believe how much money we raised. In the end people were just putting money in the jar as a donation. That’s something that’s going to continue over the year.

“The first prize was a 40in television and to start off with that was the only prize, but the more we spoke about it the more people were donating goods for us to raffle.

“We can’t believe how generous people have been. We’re only a small pub, so to have been able to raise this much money feels wonderful.”

The money donated by Churchills will be used to enhance the care children receive while being treated on the Children’s Ward.

Play Worker Gemma Probin said: “This money will go a long way in helping us to make a stay in hospital a 
little bit easier for our patients.

“There are lots of things we could do with this amount of money, and we are extremely grateful to Churchills staff and customers who have made this wonderful donation.”