Ellen addresses MPs as new lottery law brings boost for charities

Founder and Patron, Dame Ellen MacArthur, has addressed an online gathering of MPs and other parliamentary dignitaries to celebrate the impact funding from players of People's Postcode Lottery has enabled the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust to have on hundreds of young lives over the past decade on Wednesday (29 July).

The reception was held to coincide with the day that new charity lottery sales legislation came into effect, which means the annual funding available for smaller, local charities from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, will more than double from around £9 million to over £20 million.

Having first benefitted from People's Postcode Lottery support in 2010, the Trust has now received £2.7m in funds over 10 years. This has directly enabled the Trust to have a positive impact on almost three times as many young people in their recovery from cancer, by, amongst other projects:

• facilitating the opening of a northern base in Largs, Scotland
• investing in two-specially adapted yachts - Solent Hero and Caledonian Hero - to make sailing accessible to more young people
• introducing canal trips for young people needing 1-2-1 support with, or anxious about, their mobility
• launching trips for brothers and sisters of young people who have been supported by the Trust

Ellen was interviewed by People's Postcode Lottery Managing Director, Clara Govier, who has experienced the magic of sailing with the Trust first-hand. One of the key things to emerge was it is the unrestricted nature of People's Postcode Lottery funding - meaning the Trust can choose how it spends the funds to best support young people at any time - that makes the biggest difference.

Ellen said: "Now more than ever, the way money is distributed needs to be as simple as possible. All charities are experiencing a very difficult time in many different ways so the unrestricted nature of funds is fundamental as it allows us all to focus on what is so desperately needed.

"The flexibility from the unrestricted regular funding received from People's Postcode Lottery has always meant we can be responsive and wholly focus on the young people we support. That's been arguably more important than ever this year as we've shifted our entire support from sailing and residential trips to running our first Virtual Summer. This programme of activities is enabling young people to experience social engagement, access skills and training and get the peer-to-peer support and mental health support they would otherwise get from trips.

"It's also meant we've been able to start preparing so we can be ready for when we can get young people back on the water again. The Trust has always been about what young people can do, not what they can't. The support from players of People's Postcode Lottery has completely transformed what we are able to offer young people in the UK; that it's not a one-off trip and then we say goodbye. Rather they can continue to access Trust support over time."

Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised more than £500 million for 7,500 charities and good causes, since 2005.

Clara Govier added: "Today is the result of years of consultation, debate and collaboration and is a cause for celebration for charities and good causes everywhere. Our focus now is to ensure the increased funds have the biggest possible impact. Each year, players of People’s Postcode Lottery raise millions of pounds, benefitting thousands of good causes working to cut poverty, tackle isolation, improve health and wellbeing, and much more. This change will now let us do even more for the good causes players support.”