Local shop raises 1.5 million for charity

Pinku Patel, who manages Causeway Cards in Bristol, has sold lottery tickets that generated more than 1.5 million pounds for good causes. The National Lottery firm calculated the total funds raised by local convenience stores and identified Patel’s shop on Lodge Causeway in Fishponds as a top contributor.

The shop has sold more than 6.5 million pounds worth of lottery tickets. Approximately 23 percent of the price of each ticket goes toward charitable causes. Patel is one of six shopkeepers across the country selected to be the face of the latest National Lottery advertising campaign.

He will appear on billboards alongside independent retailers from Belfast, Glasgow, Manchester, Ilkeston, and Gateshead. These billboards celebrate the fundraising efforts of local community stores.

“To know that National Lottery tickets sold at Causeway Card Shop & Newsagents have helped raise more than 1.5 million for good causes across the UK is something we can all be proud of,” Patel said. “It’s a contribution made possible by our customers, and this campaign is a chance to celebrate that together.”

Patel noted that National Lottery funding supports various local initiatives. “From local community projects to much-loved Bristol venues, National Lottery funding supports so much across our city. It’s great to know that our shop and customers are playing a part in making that possible,” he added.

In Bristol, National Lottery money has funded 6,551 projects over the decades, totaling 682 million pounds for good causes. Funding has supported a small-scale sports club and the 45 million pound project that created We The Curious 30 years ago. More recently, the lottery contributed 9.5 million pounds to the transformation of Colston Hall into the Bristol Beacon.

Alastair Ruxton, Allwyn UK’s chief impact officer, stated that most people in the UK live within half a mile of a Lottery-funded Good Cause project. “That reach is in no small part due to the extraordinary efforts of independent retailers like Pinku who sell National Lottery tickets,” Ruxton said.

Ruxton explained that independent retailers have raised 10 billion pounds for Good Causes nationwide. This funding has trained Olympic and Paralympic athletes, supported award-winning British films, and aided thousands of community, education, and heritage projects. Patel’s shop is one of 469 independent retailers in the UK that have raised more than one million pounds from ticket sales, out of 22,000 total retailers.