If you won EuroMillions, what local causes would you fund?

[pinkksugarmouse]

Recently a UK resident won £181,073, 415.70 Over One hundred and eighty one million. Incredible. So you've won the euromillions. What cause or causes or problems in your local area would you want to tackle? I would like to do loads of things. But here are a couple. This is just for fun. Let's keep it lighthearted.

We need accessible children's playground's so that all children can join in.

I would like to set up better transport services for disabled people too. Not just shared rides where someone might have to travel many stops before arriving or getting home. And they could run much later so disabled people can have a better evening social life.

There are so few youth services. We need youth groups. There were some but they closed due to local funding. One was specifically for teens and young adults on the autistic spectrum. My daughter used it when she was younger. Its so sad that it closed.

My son had cancer a few years ago and a local children's cancer charity is still involved in our lives, to a lesser extent now but they have done so much for our family in the past 2 years so they would get a very generous donation.

I'd also make a big donation to the hospital he stayed at during treatment and is still under for check ups.

An organisation here that directly supports local families with bills, school purchase and whatever else they are asked for .
Facilities for parents of people with a mental disability whether by respite or direct support in the home .
Children service again for parents struggling to cope .

With that kind of money you could help every individual you know in whatever capacity and still not make a dent in it .

I’d love to give small amounts to lots of little
local projects. Our brownie pack just had to reduce meetings from 90m to 60m as the hall fees went up more than they could afford - I’d love to hire the hall for them all year so all the subs could go on activities only, and probably the same for the scouts. Donate plants and some paid for gardening time to a local hospice, get the always-faulty roundabout in the park fixed, think about ways to support the library. Small scale but standalone projects that would make a difference on their own (but wouldn’t have everyone working out that there was a lottery winner funding!)

I'd set up a scheme to give children whose parents can't afford extracurriculars a chance to do something be it, cubs, scouts, football, martial arts, drama, music lessons. A small step to level the playing field for poorer kids. Not just those on benefits though, the gap in between, the low income, working, NMW families who are barely managing but get overlooked.

I would also donate to smaller charities, especially children’s ones to help them continue. Eg, local scouts, football clubs etc. I knjw Children in Need gets much maligned on mn, but it it does help those charities you don’t know about - Children bereavement, music therapy, etc. I’d like to also help those.

for me its :

Care Homes and Senior Living
The UK’s ageing population is creating persistent demand for elder care facilities. Investing in or developing modern care homes or assisted-living communities can produce stable long-term revenue streams.
Returns typically come from:

• resident fees
• government support programs
• property appreciation

Depending on management quality, yields often fall in the 6–9% range.

Allotments. I would buy them all and lease them back to the gardeners for a peppercorn rent (1p a year). Rent has increased so much people are having to give them up, then councils sell off the land for development 😡

I’d link some to local food banks and schools too, so everyone has somewhere to grow fresh vegetables and fruits. I might buy some fields to turn into allotments too.

Young Carers.
Youth clubs
Local volunteer litter pickers equipment and insurance.
A few minibuses.
I'd go loopy sowing wild flowers everywhere and supporting conservation groups.

You could do a lot locally with just a few million.

Accessible housing for disabled people to live independently it’s scarce across the country - a bit of a scandal

@pinkksugarmouse we have a really good disability transport service in our local area but he could do with expanding I would definitely help them out

Definitely youth groups!

I’d also set up something to support young people from where I work/grew up (SIMD1 area) to access careers in the arts/heritage where they are woefully under-represented.

I’d also buy a couple of buildings that are lying empty and give one to a group to run as a community cafe/third space and run the other one myself as a community arts venue.

and I’d sort out the local football pitch so the kids have something to do.

oh and support a small charity locally for children who are bereaved or whose parents have been given terminal diagnosis

and, and, and…

I'd give money to 4 care homes (children) so that they could have a holiday abroad.
I'd put in place fees to help towards these kids attending university.
I'd put money into a charity giving them over and above gifts (like a new bike, a camera, driving lessons).

Local buildings that have architectural merit and a community function would be able
to apply for grants for repairs and restoration. I’d fund some kind of training/apprenticeship
scheme for local young people to learn trades and skills as part of this. Yes I have thought about it. I don’t even do the lottery!

I'd give a ton to MEcfs research because it is woefully underfunded and people suffer so much.

I'd support arts charities for young people from working class backgrounds. Locals venues for music and theatre and museums like one of our local ones that might close.

Something to do with nature. Probably our local wildlife trusts.

I would also support Macmillan and women's aid.

God, I would have a lovely time spending it on good causes.

Nice thread @pinkksugarmouse 👍🏻

National House Project (supports care leavers into their own homes)

Madlug - provides travel bags to children in care so they don’t have their belongings shoved in a bin bag when they move around.

Also saw a great ad for a youth cafe recently, that looked like a fab idea

Personally I would rather skip Children in Need and donate directly to the good causes. Music therapy is fantastic. As is support for bereaved children but I would cut out the middle man. Some of the big charities pay some big salaries. A local support group for bereaved children isn't going to be spending it on anything except the children.

I would buy my local football club and get them promoted from the Southern League to the Premier League. Obviously, it's going to take a number of seasons.

Have you heard of Friends of Friendless Churches? Rachel Morley has been a fantastic guest on The Rest is History podcast and would definitely bung a few quid her way.

They're wonderful on Instagram!

I’d want to help families who have disabled children and cannot get respite care with any regularity

Silverbirchleaf my singing teacher knows a lot about music therapy and speaks (or sings lol) volumes about it. I wonder if I ever set up something like that she would want to be involved. 🤔

Just checking...has that ticket been claimed btw @pinkksugarmouse ... Have we all checked ours? 😁

Unfortunately it wasn't me and it has been claimed. Still you can but dream. 😆

I’d fund mental health services for adults and children. Our local mental health trust is one of the worst rated trusts in the country so I’d find a way to offer alternatives. CAMHS locally is equally shocking. There is almost no provision for children under 11 so I would find a way to increase access for younger children to things like art therapy, play therapy, animal therapy etc.

I’d also fund high quality antenatal and postnatal groups where all parents could build support networks, rather than just those who can afford to pay for NCT and the like.

A community club with a recording studio, music practise rooms, drama classes, low cost high quality academic tuition and exercise classes etc. They would hold concerts and events and you'd be able to 'earn' tickets by litter picking, steam clearing etc at organised drives, the more you do the less you pay with VIP experiences for the hardest workers. It'd have a great community cafe with stalls by local vendors rotating and outside space with a play park and an area for exercising. Everything fully accessible. Can you tell I have a dream... 😂

I'd also pay off LOADS of student loans - so so many! Imagine, be like Oprah! I'm paying off your loan! and YOUR loan, and YOUR loan...