Eastbourne Win A Car celebrates its 20th birthday

When it was launched in 2000, the idea was to run a Christmas campaign that would last a month and help a handful of charities.

Now as it enters its 20th year, the event has raised a total of £345,000 for local charities with the same principle that has been a constant since day one – that every single penny raised goes to charity because there are no administration charges or costs deducted by The Beacon.

Bill Plumridge, Manager of The Beacon, said: “When we launched the event, we certainly didn’t think it would run for this length of time and that it would receive such fantastic support from our customers. But I think the secret to its success has been that it’s a win-win for everyone. The cost of tickets has stayed at £1, which keeps it very affordable, and all the proceeds go to 48 great local causes. The icing on the cake is that one lucky person also gets a brand new car for Christmas!

“Not only that, as this is our 20th year, we have some really fantastic prizes on offer and I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the companies who have contributed. We are very grateful.”

For this special anniversary event, the brand new car that will be won is a Suzuki Ignis 1.2 Dualjet Hybrid SZ3 manual, that has been bought from Eastbourne Motoring Centre at a heavily discounted price.

With an RRP £12,999, the Ignis is a hybrid car which means it consumes less fuel and has lower CO2 emissions that a conventional petrol engine.

EMC Director Oliver Hodges said: “We’ve been delighted to be involved with Win A Car for all these years. It’s a fantastic event that everyone looks forward to at a special time of year.”

Local companies and stores in the Centre have pulled out all the stops this year to donate some amazing additional prizes so some of the goodies that could be won by your £1 ticket include a 50 inch TV from Leo Leisure, two family tickets for Cineworld, an electronics bundle from Baseus and a goodie bag from Lush.

Win A Car 2019 launched on Thursday November 7 and runs until Tuesday December 24. The first charities taking part are: Sovereign Swimming Club for the Disabled (Friday); Samaritans (Saturday); Association of Carers (Sunday); Friends of Eastbourne DGH (Monday); Age Concern (Tuesday); Friends of Devonshire Park Theatre (Wednesday) and the RSPCA (Thursday).