Birkenhead Mecca Bingo team is celebrating the raising of a record £2 million for Carers Trust challenge. They have been undertaking activities nationwide to fund raise as much money as they would.

MeccaRank Group which owns Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos signed a partnership agreement with Carers Trust in February 2014. The deal is to help raise funds to support Carers Trust activities. The trust works with carers from across the UK with the aim of improving their lives, facilitating their working, and cushioning them from likely negative effects that as depression.

Mecca Bingo’s efforts are geared towards raising money that will help address the barriers carers face. Since the signing of the partnership, staff a Rank Group have traveled to different parts of the country where they have been involved in fund-raising activities. The agreement gave employees the liberty to implement any activity that they deemed would improve their fundraising efforts.

According to John O’Reilly, the chief executive officer at Rank Group, Carers Trust is highly esteemed by a majority of his firm’s employees, and that explains their dedication to the fundraising initiative. He argued that Rank Group would not have achieved the milestone without the effort of the staff and the community members from across the country. He thanked them for the effort they had made and expressed satisfaction with the charity initiative.

The money collected through the fundraising activities is placed under the Rank Cares Grant Funds before being distributed to Carers Trust initiatives. It is directed into providing financial support to carers who are sixteen years and above.

As the company celebrated the milestone, it was proud that the money that has already been raised have been used for a worthy course. Since the signing of the partnership in 2014, money raised by Rank Group has helped more than 9000 carers in the country. Through the help, beneficiaries have accessed breaks, essential equipment, and learning opportunities.

In support of the efforts that employees were making in the fundraising initiative, the management of Mecca Bingo joined a final challenge that was aimed at raising more resources. The challenge was termed as ‘the bushtucker trial’ and entailed eating unusual foods such as critter cocktails and mealworms. The uniqueness of the challenge attracted a large number of people and took the fundraising efforts a notch higher.

Through it, the £2 million milestones became a success. While commenting on the achievement, Terry O’Donnell, the General Manager at Mecca Birkenhead thanked the staff and customers for the support they offered. He expressed satisfaction that the firm was contributing to a worthwhile initiative. O’Donnell reiterated that Mecca Birkenhead would continue undertaking the fundraising efforts so that carers can receive the support that they desperately need.

According to him (O’Donnell), the number of carers in the UK has remained high, yet they do not access the support that they would require. “The sad reality is that three in five people will become carers in the UK at some point in their lives and with 7 million carers in the UK already, it is crucial that there is funding available to provide the support that they need,” he said.

Giles Mayer, the chief executive officer at Carers Trust, appreciated the efforts of Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos. “They have gone above and beyond once again, and we are delighted to continue our partnership,” Giles said.

 

The night of Tuesday 5th June came with its share of luck and a pleasant surprise for Steven Bray, a 35-year-old hire controller for a fire station when he advanced to the stage at Mecca Bingo Oldham to receive his £50,000 courtesy of the National Bingo Game Jackpot.

The lucky winner landed his £50,000 win after calling ‘house’ on the National Bingo game. Steven who is a regular at the club attending at least two or three nights a week was enjoying his evening at the club when it took an exciting and unexpected turn of events.

Steven would have wished to share his great achievement with his parents who introduced him to the game, but they were not there to witness his great win. He had lost his mother and father to a heart attack on July 11 aged 45 and September 2017 aged 69 respectively. In a move to befit his newly found status, Steven was alongside his sister and some of his bingo friends to witness the magical moment. Mecca Bingo Oldham who unveiled the pleasant surprise held a special party night for all their customers to celebrate Steven’s luck. The customers were treated to a buffet and toasted to Steven as he was gifted his cheque on the stage.

Steven mentioned that he had never won such a significant amount of money but was used to getting smaller wins all through the games. He also said that his mother and father never got to win such big prices as well, so he concluded the win came as a gift to them for introducing him to the game and never getting to gain any significant costs for their loyalty. In his statement, Steven said “Bingo is a little bit of me time, away from a hectic life: I have two jobs that keep me extremely busy, so it’s nice to take a relaxing break. Bingo is a good buzz especially when waiting for that last number to be called and it’s good to meet new people: It’s a laugh, and you never know you could win big. It was great to get my giant cheque, as I still can’t quite believe it”.

“My long-term plans are to pay off some of my mortgages and have a few holidays as I like to go abroad as much as I can: I have been looking at the Maldives, as I have always wanted to go there and now I will be able to. But first up is hosting a thank you party at my house for family and friends, with food and drinks on me: we will toast my parents”, was his response when asked how he planned on spending his winnings.

Tom Beverly, Club Manager at Mecca Oldham, commended Steven for his big win saying “It was great to see one of our longest standing players win the National Bingo Game: he really couldn’t believe it when we told him there and then that he had won the £50,000 jackpot. The whole club cheered, and we are thrilled to be a £50,000 winning club on the new National Bingo Game”.

A business developer Alastair Stewart commended Steven on his win as he marked the eleventh person to win the jackpot since the end of April this year when the new game was launched. The manager also added, “We are thrilled for out lucky £50,000 Jackpot winner at Mecca Oldham and hope that he enjoys his winnings, and of course his trip to the Maldives”.