Military wife Kathryn Norton is looking forward to enjoying some special time away with her veteran husband after winning £3,500 in the Veterans' Lottery.
Kathryn, who won the second-place prize after playing for around a year, said the unexpected phone call came as a wonderful surprise.
Her husband served in the military, working on Chinook and Puma helicopters and completing two tours.
Through his service, Kathryn has seen first-hand the importance of ensuring that veterans and their families can access support when they need it.
Kathryn also volunteers with a wheelchair rugby club and has developed further connections with the Armed Forces community through people involved with the Invictus Games.
She was inspired to play the Veterans' Lottery after seeing personal stories on social media about the difference charities funded by the Veterans' Foundation make to individuals and their families.
“I think it was the personal stories and seeing what a difference the support makes to an individual,” Kathryn said.
“It’s also about recognising that families are often affected as well and that many of the charities support people like me too.”
Kathryn said it was reassuring to know that support was available for her husband, who has experienced some difficult times.
“My husband has struggled at times and, for me, knowing that the help is there, even when he isn’t able to accept it, is a massive weight off,” she said.
“Knowing there are people out there looking after people like him means a great deal. It’s very important work, and all the different causes the Veterans' Foundation supports make a big difference to everyone involved.”
Kathryn particularly values the way the Veterans' Foundation supports a broad range of smaller charities delivering specialist services across the Armed Forces community.
“That’s one of the lovely things about playing the Veterans' Lottery,” she explained.
“You’re not just supporting one specific charity as the Veterans' Foundation looks at where the need is and helps a broad range of organisations.
“Individual charities with their own specialist areas can ask for help with funding or raising awareness. It’s a fantastic thing.”
Kathryn plans to use her winnings to arrange a few long weekends away with her husband after finding someone who can look after their dog.
“My husband has had a bit of a rough time over the last couple of years, so we’re going to try to do some fun things,” she said.
“We could get a cheap flight somewhere in Europe and enjoy a few weekends exploring, being adventurous and getting away from everything.
"It will give us some important time together.”
The Veterans’ Lottery is the UK’s largest single-cause lottery and is a key funding stream for the Foundation’s grant programme.
If you’d like to be in with a chance to win up to £75,000 you can sign up to play the Veterans’ Lottery today.
