South Shields couple launch Christmas Eve raffle to win their three-bedroom home

Adam and Liz Thwaites have entered their three-bedroom home as a prize in an online initiative to help raise money for the wheelchair-accessible facility at Grace House in Sunderland.

The couple aim to sell 200,000 tickets before drawing the raffle on Christmas Eve, in order to donate £50,000 to Grace House, where Liz works.

Should the target of 200,000 tickets not be met, the next goal is 110,000 where the couple would still give away the property and purchase a £13,000 wheelchair swing for Grace House.

If the number of tickets sold falls below 110,000, the money raised will instead be given away as a cash prize to the raffle winner, providing a life-changing sum.

The number of tickets sold at time of writing is more than 43,000 – and Adam is hopeful they can hit their target by Friday, December 24, enabling them to support Grace House.

He said: “We’re so thankful for everyone who has got involved so far. We're really hopeful of hitting the target by Christmas Eve and supporting a great charity in Grace House.

“Even if we don’t hit the target we’re glad we’ve been able to raise the profile of Grace House and it will be so exciting to give away a life-changing amount of money to someone.”

Adam has sought to drum up some extra support through a number of parody music videos, with wacky takes on Queen and Vanilla Ice proving a hit among online buyers.

Based in Southwick, Grace House supports a number of children with additional needs across the North East.

Laura Forbes, Grace House’s corporate fundraiser, said: “This is an incredibly generous way to support a charity and we are delighted Adam and Liz chose Grace House.

"The family are all working so hard to sell the tickets and are determined to raise as much for us as possible. If you are able to share their story to help raise awareness it would be appreciated.”

Tickets cost £1 and can be bought online here.

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