17 Dec 2025 Community

A huge £46.000 raised through Christmas Superdraw as long time hospice supporters win £3.000 prize

A surprise phone call has brought festive cheer to Brian and Andrea Pember, who are celebrating a £3,000 win in The Kirkwood’s Christmas Superdraw. The couple, who have supported the hospice for many years through fundraising, appeals and their loyal participation in the Hospice Lottery, were overwhelmed when they discovered they had scooped one of this year’s top prizes.

Their win comes as the Christmas Super Draw raised an incredible £46,000 to support patient care across Kirklees.

Brian Pember admitted the news came completely out of the blue: “It was a nice surprise. I answered the phone and someone said, ‘We’ve got some good news.’ It’s nice to have good news these days.” 

Andrea Pember said the moment they realised just how much they had won was priceless: “It was funny when he got the call. When he said, ‘How much have we won?’ I said, ‘I’ve won but I’ll go get the tickets to look.’ Then I said, ‘Oh, £3,000.’ He said, ‘How much?’ It was a very Yorkshire reaction! It’s a bit of a joke with our next-door neighbours when we talk about things and how much everything’s rocketed over the last couple of years. You might just be able to buy a bottle of milk now. I didn’t realise how much it was.”

The couple have supported The Kirkwood for many years, fundraising in creative and practical ways: “We do different things to support the hospice,” Andrea explained. “We were cyclists a few years ago but when we sold the bikes we donated the money to the hospice. Brian also makes bird boxes and Christmas trees out of pallets and sells them. We generally sell them on Facebook and then bring the cash down here. Our neighbours are very good friends and it's through word of mouth. People ask, ‘Can you make us one? The bird boxes and the trees. So anything and everything really, we usually bring it down here. We sell things and donate it.”

Brian, a joiner by trade, takes pride in ensuring nothing goes to waste: “I make the bird boxes any size anybody wants. I make them out of oak. My son’s just had a big conservatory made and I went up and there were all these offcuts. I’m a joiner by trade, you see. I said, ‘What do you do with them?’ He said, ‘We take them back and burn them.’ I went home and got my van and filled it up. I said, ‘You’re not burning that, it’s good quality wood, that. English wood.’ So I put it all down and make things from it. I’ve got a few made at home and we’re going to bring some down.”

Their connection to The Kirkwood runs deeper than fundraising alone: “We used to have stones up at the crematorium for my mum and dad,” Brian said. “One year we went up and the stones weren’t there anymore, so we stood with a wreath and nowhere to put it. They said, ‘Oh, it was only for 25 years, your stone,’ so they’d demolished it and taken it away. Andrea went and priced another one up there and I said, ‘No, we’ll just donate the money instead.’ So we’ve done that. We do Light Up a Life and the Sunflower Memories Appeal and things like that.”

Andrea added: “Our old next door neighbour was cared for by the hospice in his last couple of weeks. That was thirteen years ago, he died in the hospice.”

The couple have been part of the Hospice Lottery for many years: “We were in quite early on, we’ve been in it for quite some time,” 

Andrea said. “You just fill the tickets in and you don’t expect to win. We might have had an odd £50 before. I’m sure we’ve had something. It’s a nice little pick me up before Christmas.”

While they are keeping their plans for the £3,000 under wraps, family will be at the heart of their celebrations: “At Christmas we’ll be going to my daughter’s,” Brian said. “We don’t want to tell them what we’ll do with the money, but we’ll probably give them something. Give something back to them.”

Dawn Walker congratulated the couple on their win: “I’d like to congratulate Mr and Mrs Pember on winning £3,000 in the Christmas Super Draw. It’s so lovely that they’ve been great supporters of the hospice for a number of years. It’s a well deserved prize and I hope they enjoy it and have a wonderful Christmas.

“The £46,000 raised through the Christmas Super Draw is an amazing amount and it will go directly towards patient care, helping us continue to support local people and their families when they need us most.

“If you’d like to become a member of the Hospice Lottery, please go online and sign up. It’s a fantastic way to support us on a regular basis and make a real difference.”

Natasha Graham from Huddersfield Private Hospital, sponsors of the Superdraw, said it had been special to see the winners’ reaction in person: “I’ve been with the company about 18 months and I know there’s a close relationship with The Kirkwood. Whenever we do charitable events or fundraising in the hospital, we try to raise money for The Kirkwood. We met with Bev earlier this year and she mentioned the Christmas Superdraw. We thought it was fantastic and we’d love to sponsor it.

“Meeting the people today who have won and seeing their reaction and how much it clearly means to them, especially knowing how supportive they’ve been of the hospice over the years has been really lovely.

“It means everything to us. We know people who work at the hospital who have had close connections with The Kirkwood, so we understand how much it does for everybody. It means a lot personally to everyone at Huddersfield Private Hospital.”

Thanks to supporters like the Pembers and sponsors such as Huddersfield Private Hospital, this year’s Christmas Superdraw has raised an incredible £46,000 helping The Kirkwood continue to provide specialist care and support to patients and families across Kirklees.