Lottery winners play their part

Jun 18 2009 by Alistair Watson, West Lothian Courier

Lottery winners play their part

NATIONAL Lottery winners from across Scotland ditched the millionaire lifestyle and volunteered to go back to school to undertake some much needed refurbishment in West Lothian.

Burnhouse School in Whitburn caters for young people with social, emotional and behavioural needs and has around 40 pupils aged between 12 and 16.

The winners and their friends, worth more than £13 million combined, got their hands dirty with a range of manual activities, hoping to give the outdoor areas at the school a new lease of life.

Those involved in the volunteer project include Charlie Hilling, and his wife Geraldine, from Cumbernauld (£3m January 2005); Kerri Cartwright from Port Glasgow (£2.5m January 2007) helped out by her sister and Mark Page (£4.7m August 2007) from Dundee.

Four members from the Smile Syndicate also attended (£2.9m February 2007) – Wendy Brown, Natalie McGuire and Lorna Alexander who are all now from the Bliss Salon in Rutherglen.

The lottery winners spent a full day at the school. In the courtyard, pavings were made weed-free, picnic benches were given a fresh coat of paint, railings were restored to their former glory, while new plants and a bird box helped the outdoor area spring into summer.

The front area of the school was also revived with weeding, composting and general garden maintenance giving the front entrance fresh appeal for pupils and visitors.

Not only were the lottery winners working hard on the project, but they took time to show some of the pupils how they can maintain the outside areas for themselves, giving them the skills they need to keep the school looking at its best.

Margaret Fallon, head teacher from Burnhouse School, said: “We have been really excited about having the winners along to the school. We’ve been keen to update the outdoor areas for a while but haven’t had the expertise, time or money to be able to achieve this.

“We would like to thank everyone who has taken the time and effort to help transform the school – just a day out of their lives has made a big difference to ours.”

Lotto winner Geraldine Hilling said: “I decided to get involved because it will be very rewarding to see the difference it will make to the school.

“We’ve had a really fun day and it was a great opportunity to give something back to the local community that would have a real impact straight away.”