People's Postcode Lottery: Gosport couple Sharon Healy and Chris Smith win £400,000
A naval family are delighted after scooping £400,000 on the People’s Postcode Lottery,
Sharon Healy, 56, has two tickets for the game - after her postcode in Gosport, PO12 1GB, was chosen as the winner on March 7.
It meant a huge windfall for naval contractor Sharon and her partner Chris Smith, 55, who used to serve in the Royal Navy - and the sum brought her to tears of gratitude. What made it even better was that two local naval-themed charities have also benefited from a donation.
They include Veterans Outreach Support, which has been awarded £60,000 thanks to Postcode Lottery players.
Former Warrant Officer Chris, who left the Royal Navy aged 40 after a career as a marine engineer and artificer, said: “Any veterans charity support is very worthwhile, especially with what is going on right now. There are a lot of veterans who are depending on that support.”
Sharon, who works as a travel supervisor at nearby HMS Sultan - home of Marine Engineering Training Group and the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival School – added: “I signed up for the lottery in 2012 mainly for the charities. To know Postcode Lottery helps those kinds of charities is amazing. The money goes to really good causes. It’s worth it.”
The prize pot was £1m, and there were two other winners - but the fact that Sharon held two tickets means she doubled her money.
Sharon started crying and shaking after being presented with her first £200,000 cheque – as her retired mum Pat Warriner, 76, broke down while she watched on.
Then her emotions overtook her when lottery ambassador Danyl Johnson surprised her by whipping out a second cheque.
She said on seeing her first cheque: “Oh my God! Oh my God! We can do anything now.”
And she added when she got her second: “We can do double anything!”
The mum-of-one said: “I really don’t know what I’m going to do. Mum is crying her eyes out. I’m absolutely shell-shocked. Before you arrived, every time I thought about it my heart was going through my chest and throat. But it is exciting, very exciting.
“You don’t ever think it will be you, but I’m so glad it is. To win this sort of money is brilliant, and to learn that it is tax free is even better.
“I just can’t thank Postcode Lottery enough. You have changed my life. I’ve got to phone my daughter, then the girls at work. I’m having a Chinese tonight…or maybe we’ll have a Miller & Carter.”
Chris, who now teaches his engineering skills to college students, comforted her and said: “One cheque was a surprise, but to get two was mind numbing.”
But there is one special person Sharon will treat – her first grandchild, Maeve, after daughter Lauren, 26, gave birth just a fortnight ago.
She said: “I’ve got a two-week-old granddaughter. I’m going to Wales where my daughter lives with her partner on Monday and I’m sure she’ll be getting spoiled.”
The couple are already booked to go on a family holiday to Turkey later in the year and have no big wish list plans so far.
Chris said: “Everything we’ve wanted to do, we’ve saved very hard for.”
Sharon added: “I like shopping and I like handbags, but I wouldn’t pay £1,000 for a handbag.”
After the excitement, the pair were heading back to work before starting their celebrations.
Sharon: “I’m taking both cheques into work. My boss has been messaging me, ‘any news?’”
Veterans Outreach Support
There were also celebrations at Veterans Outreach Support when the organisation was awarded £60,000 thanks to Postcode Lottery players.
The award-winning charity offers UK Armed Forces and Merchant Navy veterans, their families and carers a full suite of support services. They cover Portsmouth and the wider Solent region, including the Isle of Wight.
They combine a drop-in model of support alongside daily delivery of welfare advice, peer-supported wellbeing activities and social groups and access to mental health support - including psychology, psychiatry and therapy services.
And Ian Millen, Veterans Outreach Support CEO, told how the player funding boost will help enhance those services. He said: “Veterans Outreach Support is thrilled to receive this £60,000 award, thanks to the generous support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
“This vital funding will directly enhance our work supporting the mental health, welfare and wellbeing of veterans and their families across Portsmouth and the Solent region.
“At a time when rising living costs and social uncertainty are placing extra strain on our veteran community, this support is truly invaluable. It will enable Veterans Outreach Support to sustain and strengthen the compassionate, personalised support and care we offer to those who have served and their loved ones.”
VOS has supported over 3,000 registered users since 2008, working in partnership with several statutory bodies, local authorities and other support organisations to ensure those who need help, get the right support to meet their needs.
Drop-ins in Portsmouth and Isle of Wight provide relaxed spaces where visitors can talk to the VOS team and representatives from other local and national support organisations.
The charity is also the Portfolio Lead Organisation for the South East of England in the Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund’s (AFCFT) Thrive Together programme aimed at further developing networks of sustainable support for veterans, their families and carers across the South East of England.
Mr Millen added: “On behalf of our Veterans Outreach Support members, staff and volunteers, we express our sincere gratitude to players for this award, which helps us move closer to our goal of ensuring every veteran can access the support they need.”
Oarsome Chance was also awarded £80,000. This organisation brings about change for young people with special education needs in the Gosport, Havant and wider areas with a flexible blend of practical and physical learning and a high level of individual support.