A CAERPHILLY millionaire has joined forces with fellow Welsh lottery winners to support a pet food bank.
Nigel Willetts from Caerphilly won £1 million on the National Lottery in 2014. He was joined by Richard and Faye Davies from Brecon, who won £1 million in 2018, and Chris and Geraldine Bradley from Carmarthen. Their grandfather Bob won £3.6 million in 2006.
The group became volunteers for the day at Cariad Pet Therapy – which benefits from National Lottery funding – and donated pet supplies to the food bank.
The volunteers parcelled up the donated pet food, restocked shelves and heard from some of the people who have benefitted from the service.
Mr Willetts said: “Getting out and about, seeing the good causes that players of The National Lottery help to fund it one of the highlights of being a National Lottery winner, so it felt really good to be back in the community again.”
Ms Davies said: “As a mental health nurse, I have seen first-hand the impact pets can have on people’s mental well-being so organisations like Cariad are vital in ensuring people stay well, especially when times are tough.
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“It was also great to meet with other winners and have a proper catch up, while doing our bit for this lovely charity. We’ve got two dogs and I know that we’d be lost without them, so I think what Cariad does is really important.”
Cariad Pet Therapy was founded by married couple Rob and Chrissie Thomas as they believe regular contact with animals has a positive impact on people’s mental wellbeing.
They have 50 volunteers who take dogs to visit residential care homes, schools, hospital wards, isolated and elderly people as well as workplaces in South Wales.
They received funding from the National Lottery in January last year where £9,480 was given for their Dogs on your Doorstep project and £6,600 in September last year for their scheme to put 35 robot pets in care homes for people with dementia.
In January Cariad Pet Food Bank was launched after the Covid pandemic meant people were struggling financially and there was a real possibility that pet owners may have been forced to give up their animals if they couldn’t afford to feed them.
They found that many of those struggling fed their beloved pets before themselves during the pandemic. So far Cariad has donated just under 70,000 meals for animals in need.
Mr Thomas, director of Cariad Pet Therapy, said: “We are so grateful to the National Lottery winners for their generous pet food donation which means that we are well stocked for the festive season and hopefully well into the New Year. It was great that they were able to come along to the pet food bank and see for themselves where the donations will go and how it all works.
“When we first set up the pet food bank, we didn’t expect to be as busy as we have been but it’s been such a tough time for so many people that we have found our services in constant demand.”
National Lottery players generate more than £30 million each week for projects funded by the National Lottery.
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