Scooping a lottery jackpot can transform a winner’s life overnight – opening doors to luxury getaways, dream homes and long-term financial security for their loved ones.
Yet for Carrie Edwards, her windfall meant something entirely different. The grandmother, from Virginia, US, matched four of the first five Powerball numbers along with a key sixth numeral.
Her win would ordinarily have netted a prize of $50,000 (£37,000). However, when she purchased her ticket at a Virginia store, she paid an extra dollar – tripling her eventual payout.
Rather than pocketing her £111,000 windfall last September, Carrie incredibly chose to donate every penny to charities supporting dementia research, food access and assistance for military families.
Carrie recalled receiving a notification on her phone saying: “Please collect your lottery winnings…You won the Monday, September 8 draw for $50,000 and you had the 3x multiplier, so you won $150,000.” The Midlothian, Virginia resident told reporters: “I knew I needed to give it all away. God is blessing me, so I can bless others.”
Carrie went on to describe her Powerball victory as a blessing that could “serve a greater purpose”, expressing her hope that others would feel moved to donate their own winnings to worthy causes.
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“We all are responsible for helping each other in this life,” she said.
She split her prize into three equal portions, with $50,000 apiece going to the Association Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), Shalom Farms and the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. Carrie, who is widowed, explained: “These three organisations represent healing, service and community.”
Officials from all three charities revealed they weren’t shocked by Carrie’s kindness as she had previously made contributions to them.
A lottery spokesperson noted that winners only “very rarely” follow Carrie’s example.
Carrie’s kindness isn’t entirely without precedent. Back in 2019, a South Carolina woman who secured a $1.5bn (£1.1bn) Mega Millions jackpot contributed millions to the Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Alabama Red Cross for tornado relief efforts.
And back in 2013, Canadian Bob Erb, who landed a $12 million prize (£8.9m), gave a $10,000 (£7.4k) tip to a restaurant owner whose daughter was fighting cancer.
The chances of securing a Powerball prize stand at one in 24.9 million, while the likelihood of claiming the jackpot sits at one in 292.2 million.
Meanwhile, mega-winner Edwin Castro became victim to the so-called “lottery curse.”
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An individual who alleged that Edwin had pinched his winning ticket attempted to pursue legal action to claim a portion of his prize money, two of his cousins were arrested in connection with a criminal luxury car scam, and the lavish $3.8 million Malibu property he purchased with his winnings was burnt to the ground in the devastating California wildfires.