HOWEVER you dress it up, raising money for any good cause is a thankless task, and hard work.

So why is Trefloyne Junior Golf Academy giving £500 in guaranteed prizes in its Extra Special Lottery Christmas Draw, when they obviously can’t sell enough tickets to cover the prizes?

The answer is simply that the big prize has remained unclaimed, and it’s time for the supporters to see some prizes. So, it’s a way to give something back to its supporters and say ‘thank you’.

And yes, to be completely honest it’s also a PR exercise to maintain and grow interest.

The Academy is an independent, not-for-profit volunteer organisation with its base at Trefloyne. They know that being a parent is an expensive business so from Day 1 the aim has been to try and ensure that parents don’t have to dig deep for an activity their kids might love, but perhaps won’t carry on with.

That’s kids from 3 years old to 14, getting subsidised coaching with all the kit provided at no cost plus free membership of Trefloyne Golf Club for up to a year.

In the three years since it started the Academy has managed to raise enough money to keep afloat and give dozens of youngsters the chance to find out if they like golf, and then to support the ones who do, as they start out on their golfing journey.

That’s meant grants from Sport Wales for equipment and floodlighting, grants from Pembrokeshire County Council towards toilets, putting mats and a swing trainer, generous donations from local businesses, and gifts from golf club members and others. And Kim Beynon, Trefloyne’s owner, allowed the Academy to sell advertising as it installed new tee signs across the course.

But the weekly lottery is still one of the main ways the Academy stays afloat. It’s simple pick four numbers for £1 and it’s the chance to win a great prize – currently £3,000. Half of each pound goes into the prize pot, and the other half supports the juniors.

And so, to say thanks for all the support, there’s now the Extra Special Christmas Draw with £500 in guaranteed prizes on December 17th, just in time for Christmas.

There are no extra tickets to buy for the Extra Special Draw. Everyone who enters the lottery in the six weeks starting November 13th is automatically in.

Every lottery entry over the six weeks gets a number and the 12 prizes are pulled out of the hat. That’s £200, £100, £50, £25 (x2) £20 (x3) and £10 (x4) that will definitely be given away.

Like a raffle, every entry stands an equal chance, so the more entries the more chances to win. And annual ticket holders get a number for each week paid for... unless they buy extra!

Meurig Evans from the Academy said that this is likely to be an annual event – even twice-yearly.

So watch this space, or ask at Trefloyne.