Happy Lotto Winners Are Givers

We often hear that giving is better than receiving. The $40 Million Oz Lotto winners story has been all over the news, and the lucky Victorian couple were very keen to share their good fortune with their local community, stating, “We have always had plans to share, giving some back is what it’s all about; we fully believe in that. This windfall is more than enough to look after our family, and we’re not greedy, so all we’ve been thinking about is how else we can help”.

Does giving promote true happiness? Most stories we see in the news, unfortunately, focus on the downside of winning the lotto. That’s why we wanted to share the stories that are often overlooked in the media – the stories about Lotto winners who decided to use their winnings to help others…

Lotto Prize Used to Help Homeless Man

A woman from the state of Massachusetts in USA was super excited to win $200 on a scratchie ticket but made the noble decision to pass her good fortune on to a man in need. A single mother of three explained how her excitement turned to apprehension as she saw the homeless man, Glenn, standing on the street in near freezing temperatures, holding a cardboard sign reading “Anything Would Help”.

When she discovered that the man had nowhere to sleep that night, she immediately called all the local homeless shelters in the area, but there were no vacancies available. She then decided to use her $200 prize to shelter Glenn in a nearby motel for a few nights. “I knew that the money never really belonged to me,” she said. “This money was meant to help him”.

$50 Million Powerball Winner “Wants to Give Back.”

A woman from ACT, who won the $50 Million Powerball in June last year said she would donate a portion of her winnings to charity to express gratitude towards her adopted country. “I moved to Australia more than a decade ago so I want to give back,” she said. Read the full story here.

Gold Coast Lotto Millionaires Donate to Multiple Charities

A middle-aged couple from the Gold Coast, who won a $53 million share in a massive $106.5 Million Oz Lotto jackpot in June 2009, said they had “too much left over” after taking care of their family and were tossing ideas of which charities to donate to. Interestingly enough the lucky winners continued going into work as per normal despite their life-changing win.

Townsville Oz Lotto Winners Share Their Fortune

A young family from Townsville were one of four lucky winners that shared Division 1 $111.9 Million Oz Lotto jackpot in November 2012. They share that the best part of their windfall was being able to afford to build their dream home and work flexible hours to spend more time with the family. They also didn’t make a secret out of their newly found fortune and were more than willing to share, “We don’t hide the fact that we won Oz Lotto, but we don’t broadcast it. We’ve helped a lot of people out in the last year, including buying houses and giving money to several families in the community.”

A Scottish Couple Donated to Their Community and Children in Need

A couple from Scotland gave significant amounts of their winnings over the years to causes that moved them. Since winning roughly $250 million in 2011, the pair has made donations to a young girl with cerebral palsy, a talented young artist, and a child in need of a prosthetic limb, to name a few. They also gave their house to their neighbour, who was a teen mother, and donated countless dollars to fund various causes within their community through the Weir Charitable Trust.

Canadian Millionaire Gives Entire Winnings to Charity

Tom Crist, who won $40 million in a Canadian lottery with a recurring subscription ticket. While the win didn’t break any jackpot records, the winner made the selfless decision to donate all his winnings to charity. The prize money was placed in a trust to be distributed amongst various charities of his children’s choice. Crist stated that he had “been fortunate enough” and wished to honour his late wife, who passed away after a cancer battle.

An American Powerball Winner Fixes School Roof

An 84-year-old woman, from Florida USA, won the American Powerball jackpot worth $590.5 million, largest individual win in the history of the game. She donated money to several different causes, one of the most notable being a $2 Million to repair a High School roof in her hometown. The school was built in 1957, and the school board confirmed the school was about to be closed, the donation allowed the school to remain open.

Mega-Millions Winner from New York Builds a Waterpark

An IT specialist, who shared the $319 million jackpot win in 2011 and cashed in $28.7 million cheque of his share, donated $250,000 to build Spray Park in Green Island, New York. The winner said that the water park was to be built in memory of his parents, who lived in the area for many years and taught him to love and be a part of the local community.

Unemployed British Lotto Winner Gives €13 Million to Charity

A £26 million British woman went from “rags to riches” after buying a ticket in the British Lotto with her £58 a week benefits. But, instead of squandering her winnings, she decided to keep only a fraction of the win for herself and immediately distributed €13 million to charity and good causes. The woman said after spending half her adult life unemployed and the other half living on minimum wage she knew too well how hard things can be for others struggling.

Homeless Winner Shares Money with Mates

$50,000 win may be easily dwarfed by the previous multi-million wins, but it will surely not make the heart of this homeless man. Instead of opting for a bed for the night or the much-needed dentist visit, he stayed in his tent and gave $100 to each of his homeless mates.

Want your chance at becoming Australia’s next multi-millionaire?  Purchase a ticket from Oz Lotteries online.