Peterborough Lottery winners say thanks to key workers with colourful gifts

Self-employed carpenter of 14 years, Daniel Peart (29) and his wife Charlotte (30) from Peterborough, who won £1M on EuroMillions in 2018, have been building garden boxes and planting them with a selection of plants, from herbs and quick growing salad leaves to flowers and shrubs.

Now with some easing of the lockdown, the boxes are being distributed as a ‘Thank you’.

The project was the brain child of Daniel, and is now being spread across the country by other Lotto winners.

Used to being constantly busy, and currently with no work on, Daniel turned his hand to building the planter boxes which will now be gifted to the children of key workers at Alderman Jacobs Primary School and local Police Officers.

Alderman Jacobs Primary School in Whittlesey is providing a safe and supportive environment for the young children of local key workers and is also the school their children usually attend.

Elaine Crane, Deputy Headteacher at Alderman Jacobs, said, “It’s such a lovely project and we are absolutely delighted to have received these planters. Not only will it keep little minds, and hands, busy but the finished planters will bring some brightness and cheer for the children of our key workers.”

Police Officers based at Thorpe Wood Police Station in Peterborough will also be receiving planter., Charlotte said: “My mum is in the Police so I know through her the challenges they have faced but also how committed the whole force has been to keeping our community safe at this worrying time. We hope these little planters will serve as a little reminder that we are all incredibly grateful for everything they are doing for us.”

Receiving the garden boxes on behalf of the team at Thorpe Wood Police Station in Peterborough, Detective Chief Inspector Neil Sloan said: “We were very surprised to receive the gifts from Daniel and Charlotte. On behalf of all the officers and staff here at Thorpe Wood we would like to thank them for their generosity and for thinking of us.”

Full time mum and now, like many parents across the country, home schooling expert, Charlotte explained how the project first came about: “When the country was first put into lockdown and the schools closed, I asked Dan to make something with our children to keep them busy, we joked it was their Design Technology lesson!

“We hit on the idea to start making the boxes to be distributed as a ‘Thank You’ to key workers and our children, who have been really involved painting and decorating them with lots of bright colours, thought the local school would be a worthy recipient!”

Just as the plants are growing, so too is the garden boxes build team, with National Lottery winners across the country joining the project.

Builder Andrew Cunliffe, from Blackpool, who scooped £1M in 2016, added: “Sometimes you can feel a bit helpless – wanting to do something but unsure what - so when we saw the Pearts were doing these planters we jumped on board. It’s a grassroots solution and something that puts my skills to good use.

“I am obviously at home at the moment and unable to work and like the Pearts, my wife, Natalie and I are trying to keep the children occupied and educated and this seemed like the perfect solution.

“It is fantastic to see an end result from your efforts and also knowing that they are going to bring real cheer and smiles to the faces of the recipients.”

Thanks to National Lottery players, up to £600M will be used to support the most vulnerable in communities across the UK during the Coronavirus crisis. By playing The National Lottery, £30M is raised every week on average by National Lottery players for projects big and small across the country. Hundreds of millions of pounds will be distributed to charities and local voluntary organisations over the next few months to help support people through the Covid-19 crisis - from helping support food banks, to causes that combat loneliness and isolation, support for the elderly and projects that support health in the community.