Barbara Raynor-Taylor, a nurse at Royal Oldham hospital, has emerged as the winner of the 2007 Riddle of Life competition. Her name was chosen at random from the list of correct and valid entries on Wednesday 29 August. Barbara chose the Oldham Substance Misuse Project as the cause to which the prize money should go.
The Oldham Substance Misuse Service is an initiative that provides health and social care services for people living in Oldham who may be having problems with drug and alcohol use.
She passed on the prize-winnings to them at a special handover ceremony in Oldham on Tuesday 25 September. Asked about her experience of the competition and why she chose this particular cause, she explained:
“I enjoyed reading the Bible as part of the competition and was thrilled to be chosen as the winner. I chose the Substance Misuse Service because I wanted the money to go to a cause that was close to my heart. My son dabbled with drugs and at the time, I felt there wasn’t enough advice for teenagers and parents facing this situation. Also, as a committed Christian, I believe we should look after the wider community. Since the Oldham Substance Misuse Service is doing a great job in this area, I wanted to give them a helping hand.”
Tony Lilley, a Social Worker from the Oldham Substance Misuse Project, was there on the day to receive the donation. He said: “We’re delighted to receive this very generous donation in recognition of our work. This donation will help us to continue to offer our services to people living in Oldham. We’ll be able to go on helping those with substance misuse problems to make positive changes in their lives. It will also enable us to continue to offer support to their families. We’d like to say thank-you to Barbara Raynor-Taylor and to the Bible Society for this gift.”
Sue Green, a representative of Bible Society who is based in Manchester, summed it all up by saying: “Our competition was designed to show that the Bible is full of everyday stories that still strike a chord today. One of the riddles was about the Good Samaritan and Barbara is certainly one of those.” |
