10 Nov 2025 Community

Bridget becomes a The Kirkwood Lottery winner and is proud to be one

For more than two decades, Bridget Madden from Dalton has been one of The Kirkwood’s most loyal supporters. Through rain or shine, she’s played the hospice lottery, donated to the charity shops, and popped into her local store in Moldgreen for a friendly chat and a browse. Her support has always come from the heart, a quiet, consistent way of giving back to a place that means so much to her.

When Bridget received the news that she’d won a prize in The Kirkwood Lottery, she couldn’t quite believe it. “I’ve never won anything in my life!” she laughed. What makes her story so special isn’t just the win itself, but the decades of care, compassion and community spirit behind it, and the deep connection she feels to the hospice that once cared for her beloved uncle.

On supporting The Kirkwood Bridget says: “I’ve been doing it for quite a while now. To be quite honest, it’s because I live so near here and I pass by a lot. Just looking at this place gives me such a lovely feeling. I just think it’s such a beautiful place, and I know for a fact they do wonderful work looking after people at the end of their lives. My husband sadly died when he was just 45 so I know what it is like to lose someone you love.”

Bridget’s connection to The Kirkwood runs deep, around twenty years ago, her uncle spent the final years of his life at the hospice after being diagnosed with cancer.

“I had an uncle who had cancer and he spent the last years of his life being cared for by The Kirkwood,” she recalls. “When he was here, he just seemed really at peace, He was very ill, of course, but he seemed content. The nurses and the staff were just so lovely. That’s the only way I can say it. Even just coming into the foyer, it’s got that lovely atmosphere.”

She remembers visiting him alongside her late mother, those visits left a lasting impression: “When my mum was alive, we used to come down here and spend time with him before he went. It meant a lot to us.”

That local connection is at the heart of Bridget’s support: “I donate a lot to the shop and I buy a lot from the shop. It’s kind of part of my life now, part of me. I have a lot of friends who donate to the shop too, mostly clothes and things you don’t need anymore. I love the shop, I go in, I buy books, I buy wool because I like to knit, and I buy all sorts of little things. I just love having a browse around the shop, the shops are lovely.”

Her commitment to the cause has never been about personal gain: “I’m 75 years of age and I’ve never won anything in my life, ever,” she laughs. “So when I got the letter saying I’d won The Kirkwood lottery, I just thought, this is not right, this isn’t happening to me!”

Bridget had finally won a prize through The Kirkwood Lottery and it couldn’t have come to a more devoted supporter: “I was absolutely delighted,” she says. “It was lovely, because I’ve never won anything. I don’t do it to win, but that was a little bonus. It just gives you a little bit of a lift, a nice little boost in your week. If I can help in my little way, I’m only too happy to, and I’ll continue as long as I’m alive. I have a few other charities which I donate to, but I always try to do my bit. Obviously, with me being a pensioner and not working, I haven’t got a great deal of funds myself, but if I can help in any little way, I will do.”

As for her winnings? Bridget already knows exactly how she’ll spend them: “It’s my partner’s 80th birthday next year, so I’ve put it towards a bit of a holiday for us,” she explains. “He knows about it, we’re going to Thailand. We’ve never been anywhere like that, so we just thought, why not? People we know have been and said it’s beautiful, and the people are lovely.”

Bridget’s story is one of quiet generosity, community spirit, and simple joy, proof that kindness has a way of finding its way back.

If you want to play the Big K Lottery please click the link HERE.