I WRITE to acknowledge the fabulous news that the People’s Postcode Lottery has raised £2.2m for local charities since launching in 2005.

As chief executive officer of Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres – one of the People’s Postcode Lottery’s grateful charity partners – I would like to say a huge thank-you to it for its dedication to the development of charities across the country.

In just five months, more than £74,000 has been raised by the lottery to help us launch the first Maggie’s Centre in the North-East, at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle. The beauty of the support is that it is unrestricted which enables us to flexibly invest in areas where it is truly needed. That’s how we could set up Maggie’s Online Centre, our interactive community to help those affected by cancer right now. Because of the lottery gift, it is free to join and is open all day every day.

I know the other charity partners in the area, including Children North-East, Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Missing People, Daisy Chain and many others will also have made crucial developments due to this partnership.

We’ve all seen the billboards for the People’s Postcode Lottery, but not everyone knows about the great work being done thanks to the generosity and vision of this not-for-profit organisation.

Laura Lee, Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres.