Helen Roughley’s Million Dollar Dream Came True!

Helen Roughley never imagined that answering the phone would make her $1 million richer.

But one morning in May, that's exactly what happened.

The 59-year-old was home alone when she received a call completely out of the blue.

On the other end of the line was Paul Stockwell, Head of Fundraising and Operations at the Deaf Lottery, with life-changing news!

“I've been buying tickets for years, but you never really think it's going to be you,” she said.

“At first, I thought Paul was just calling about the raffle tickets… then I heard everyone cheering in the background.”

And cheer we did, because it's not every day you get to hear someone's reaction after finding out they've just become a millionaire.

Watch Helen’s winning call here.

A VIP supporter since 2018, Helen held the winning ticket for the $1 million First Prize, along with a $30,000 Book Buyers Prize, thanks to her monthly support of $100 as a Deaf Lottery VIP.

For Helen, the timing couldn't have been more meaningful.

“The last two years have been really hard. My dad passed three days before Christmas in 2024, my dog died away in May last year, and then my mum passed in July.”

On the morning she received the winning call, Helen had been thinking about her mum after hearing a Mother's Day segment on the radio.

“So later that day, when I got the call from you guys, I just knew she was looking down on me,” she said.

The win has already transformed Helen and her husband's plans for the future.

“I already had quotes from builders before I got the call, so we're definitely going ahead with the house renovations now.”  

“We've got a couple of projects planned, including renovating the bathroom and the kitchen... maybe even outside the house too.”

She even took us on a tour of her home, proudly showing us the spaces that will soon be transformed.

And there are bigger adventures on the horizon too.

“We can finally start planning a big cruise around Japan during cherry blossom season,” Helen said.  

“My husband and I, we love cruising. But before this we'd only do a big holiday every second year. Now we can go on many more!”

When Helen first found out she'd won, sharing the news with her family proved harder than expected.

“I called my son and said, 'You need to ring me ASAP!' He said he was in a meeting. Then I called my daughter and she asked, 'Is it urgent?' I said, 'Yes!' but she was in a meeting too,” she laughed.

“I was thinking, really guys?”

Eventually, her son checked the winner announcement online and immediately recognised the location.

“He saw the winner was from Fort Kennedy, where I'm from, and said, 'Mum… that's you, isn't it?'”

Now, Helen says the win has given her family something priceless: peace of mind.

“We can live really comfortably now. We can do the things we want to do and not worry so much. It means we can really enjoy life.”

From all of us at the Deaf Lottery, we hope Helen and her family enjoy this exciting new chapter. Stories like Helen's are a reminder of just how life-changing a Deaf Lottery win can be.