Supporting the Armed Forces community is a cause close to Susan-Belton Jones’s heart thanks to her mother’s service in the RAF and her two aunts’ time in the Wrens.
Now Susan is celebrating a £7,000 Veterans' Lottery® win.
Her father also completed National Service, and Susan once hoped to follow her aunts into the Women’s Royal Naval Service.
“I always planned to join the Wrens myself, but it just didn’t happen,” she said.
Instead, Susan has shown her appreciation through years of support for service and veterans’ charities, continuing a tradition inspired by her mother.
Each Remembrance, she looks for someone wearing a uniform or medals to buy her poppy from, putting £20 in their collection box and thanking them for their service.
“That was what she did,” Susan said. “It’s always been a bit of a thing for me.”
That personal thank you reflects Susan’s longstanding commitment to the Armed Forces community.
“I have always been a supporter of services charities and veterans charities,” she said.
Susan, who moved to the edge of the Lake District National Park three years ago, joined the Veterans' Lottery after speaking to a fundraiser at a service station during a journey south.
It was another opportunity to support a cause she cared about — and her September win brought some wonderful news.
She was in a meeting when the first call arrived and Susan didn't recognise the number, so she rejected it — and dismissed a second call a few minutes later.
Only after receiving an email asking her to contact the office did she discover she had won £7,000.
“I got an email and I was able to call the office and get the really good news,” she said.
Susan now plans to spend her winnings on a family holiday.
Reflecting on her charitable support, she said: “I’m lucky enough to be able to afford to support a variety of good causes.”
"The Veterans' Foundation® does so much good and I'm very proud to support it."
Through the Veterans' Lottery, supporters like Susan help the Veterans' Foundation® fund charities and organisations supporting veterans, serving personnel and their families.
