Thanks to players of The Health Lottery, this November £300,000 has been shared between four national charities.
Beauty Banks, Crisis, Dreams Come True and FoodCycle all work to improve wellbeing. In different ways they offer support and dignity to people who find themselves – through no fault of their own – in tough situations.
Delva Patman, Chief Executive of The Health Lottery Foundation, said:
“Timing was important to us for these donations. We made our decision and awarded the money quickly to help support the increase in demand that charities experience over the festive period. We know many organisations gear up to offer additional comfort at Christmas. We selected charities where we felt the funding would offer the opportunity for the charity to go beyond basic provision and spread a little joy.”
Beauty Banks operates nationwide through four warehouses in Brighton, Croydon, Dundee and Winsford (Greater Manchester). The organisation will allocate £15,000 per region to fully supply hub charities in these areas. This amounts to approximately 210 charities in total – for a three-month period (November to end of January). This grant also supports their Christmas Gifting Fund, helping them to wrap and distribute 4,000 Christmas gifts for 2025 to charity partners across the UK and towards operational costs.
Jo Jones, Co Founder of Beauty Banks said:
“£75,000 is a transformational amount of money for a small, grassroots charity like Beauty Banks. This grant will enable us to reach hundreds more communities across the UK — individuals and families living in hygiene poverty who can’t afford the basics to stay clean. Thanks to the players of The Health Lottery, thousands more people will now have access to hygiene essentials like soap, toothpaste, and deodorant — everyday items most of us take for granted, but that no one should have to live without.”
FoodCycle will use the £75K to deliver approximately 620 community meal sessions, serving over 21,000 three-course meals across the UK. This includes over 80 Christmas meals, in which volunteers always go the extra mile to make guests feel special.
Some of the funding will be used by FoodCycle to go beyond providing their normal festive menu – vegetarian roasts with all the trimmings, mince pies, Christmas puddings and plenty of gravy – to purchase additional items such as decorations, crackers and Christmas cards.
Sophie Tebbetts, Chief Executive said:
“Winter is a particularly difficult time for many of the people we support, with some telling us that at this time of year they often have to choose between heating their home or eating. Having a place where they can access a hot cooked meal every week is a lifeline, and the funding from the Health Lottery Foundation will help us support so many people throughout the winter months through our community meals.”
Crisis will use the funding towards providing hotel rooms in London for 378 people who would otherwise be sleeping rough and help support 5,500 people nationwide through day centres and frontline services. In addition, this Christmas the charity will be offering a 41-bed women-only hotel which is a new pathway specifically designed for women experiencing homelessness. Located in East London, this short-term, high-quality accommodation is a women-led initiative grounded in a psychologically informed approach. Each guest will have access to a private en-suite room and hot meals, ensuring a dignified and comfortable stay and receive one-to-one casework support, along with opportunities to participate in wellbeing and communal activities. Like all Crisis at Christmas hotels, the women-led pathway places dignity, choice, and respect at its core.
Ian Richards, Head of Crisis Christmas said:
“Crisis is deeply grateful to the Health Lottery Foundation for their generous grant. This vital funding will help people begin a life beyond homelessness this Christmas. With this grant, we’ll provide warmth, safety, and specialist care to people experiencing homelessness during one of the hardest times of the year. We aim to help 5,500 people access personalised support with housing and healthcare, giving them the tools to move forward into stable, secure homes. Thanks to the Health Lottery Foundation, our Christmas services will help build a future where everyone has a place to call home.”
Dreams Come True supports children with disabilities, serious illness or life-limiting conditions in the UK’s most deprived areas. The funding will help to deliver dreams to 1,560 children, through four community projects—including adapted trikes, a playground refit and two sensory areas—and 10 individual dreams such as equipment, bedroom makeovers and a holiday. The community dreams include – a fleet of fully adapted, bespoke trikes in Merseyside, a playground refit in Buckie, a sensory area in a hospital in Inverclyde and a sensory area for a school in Glasgow.
Lisa King OBE, CEO said:
“Dreams Come True is absolutely thrilled and deeply grateful to receive a £75,000 grant from The Health Lottery Foundation. This incredible support will help us make even more dreams come true for children in the greatest of need and who are often overlooked – those living with a disability or life-limiting condition in the UK’s most disadvantaged communities. With 4.3 million children in the UK living in poverty (over one third), the need for our dreams has never been greater – and it is growing by the day. Thank you so much to The Health Lottery Foundation; with this support we can reach even more families and bring them joy and magic that makes a true lasting impact.”
These 4 grants bring the total donated from the Health Lottery Foundation this year to just over £1.3 million, with £242,000 still to be awarded. During 2026 the organisation plans to distribute between £1.5 million and £2 million across several different funding rounds.