Different Strokes

Different Strokes is run by younger stroke survivors for younger stroke survivors with the majority of staff and trustees being survivors themselves so they have personal experience of the realities of life after stroke and recognise that the Different Strokes community and family members are the experts in stroke recovery and rehabilitation with first-hand knowledge of the issues and challenges facing families.

Each year there are 100,000 strokes in the UK; 1 in 4 of these occurs in somebody of working age or younger.

Different Strokes is a growing charity and the demand for their services is increasing year on year. They currently have a small team of 11, mostly part time staff.

Having a stroke is especially isolating for working age people, often with young families to support; relying on employment but suddenly unable to work. Younger stroke survivors must learn to accept disabilities which can include paralysis, memory issues, depression, anxiety and severe fatigue, as well as changes to virtually every aspect of life – wellbeing, communication, mobility, employment, independence, social life and relationships.

This is where Different Strokes can really help. By raising awareness of younger stroke conditions, and by providing support to individual stroke survivors and their families. The charity provides practical information, signposting to relevant organisations, facilitating peer support and exercise via online channels, phone, email and at our national groups. There is a network of volunteer ambassadors who raise awareness and improve the outcomes for stroke survivors in their area, specialist one to one support for teenagers and young adults via our befriending scheme and resources to support children whose parent has had a stroke.

All of these resources are free to anyone who needs them and promotes independent stroke recovery, so younger stroke survivors can reclaim their lives.

From your very first game, you will be helping Different Strokes to raise vital funds, some examples of what your contribution could pay for:

• £5 could fund an information pack to be sent to a stroke survivor with advice, support and guidance to assist the individual and their family with recovery.

• £25 could fund to take a support call, assisting the stroke survivor to obtain practical information on life after stroke and signposting.

• £25 could fund to produce an online exercise session by a trained physiotherapist, there to inspire and support stroke survivors physical recovery.

Registered Charity Number: 1092168

www.differentstrokes.co.uk

How To Play The Lottery

Each entry to the draw costs £1. Our draws are run every week of the year, usually on a Friday. You can either set up a membership to provide your chosen cause with a regular and reliable income, every week of the year, or you can play as and when you want to, whatever suits you best!

Lottery fundraising is a really easy and fun way to provide good causes with an income that they can plan for the future with. You need to be 18 or over and living in Great Britain to take part.
Last year (April 2022-March 2023):

• Lottery Income that went towards charitable causes = £573,922.20 (38.9%)
• Lottery income that went on expenses = £741,499.80 (50.3%)
• Lottery income that went on prizes = £132,500.00 (10.8%)

What are my chances of winning?

Any prize = 1 in 204 tickets entered into the draw will win a prize.

These figures are estimated using current plays and figures and can vary slightly from each week. These are an approximate and can be updated at any time.

In total, there were an average 27,819 weekly plays across our charity partners, with 6,734 prizes being given away over the year.

Please call us if you would rather set your lottery membership up over the phone 0300 303 4500.

How Do I Win?

When you join, we will allocate you with a lottery play number. Our draws are randomly drawn each Friday (with exception when this is a Bank Holiday, when it will take place the working day prior). You don’t need to check the results every week, although you can if you want to. If you win, we will contact you to let you know. If we have your email, your prize winnings will automatically go into your make a smile lottery account; where you can then request a withdrawal, after which monies are then transferred into your bank account, or if you don’t have an email with us, a letter and cheque will be sent via post (please make sure that we have your up to date address).