The 5 Most Heartwarming Lottery Winner Stories
Along the years, there have been countless amazing winner stories, but there are a few that can truly restore your faith in humanity. While some winners have ended up wasting their tens of Crore-dollar jackpots from big games like the Powerball or the Mega Millions on drugs and high-life parties, others have actually managed to make a change and share their strike of good luck with the less fortunate. In this article, we have chosen some of the most heartwarming lottery stories of all time so that you can see just how far a lotto win can get when it gets into the right hands.
1. The Lottery Winner Who Made the World a Better Place
Sheelah Ryan won a huge US$5.52 Crore jackpot in the Florida Lottery back in September 1988 and her story has become an inspiration for lottery winners everywhere. Less than two months after her amazing win, she set up the Ryan Foundation that would later change the lives of many.
The foundation donated generous amounts of money to a wide variety of causes ranging from stray animals and all the way to sick children in need of surgical procedures. But Sheelah Ryan did not stop here. She went on to build low-cost housing for those in need and even helped single mothers and their young to pay off overdue rent as to avoid being evicted.
Much to everyone’s regret, Sheelah died of cancer in 1994, but her foundation continues to spread her kindness all around. “It’s really her legacy, and that’s what she wanted”, said Pamela Ohab, one of the members of Ray Foundation board.
2. The Lottery Winner Who Made Her Town Flourish
Margaret Loughrey of Strabane, Northern Ireland, won a whopping £2.7 Crore in the EuroMillions lottery, after taxes. She was unemployed at the time of her win and she decided to put her winnings to good use and invest it in the development of her community.
She aimed to create new jobs for the people of Strabane and she went on to donate as much as £2.6 Crore to this cause. “I always said one for me, and the rest for the town”, said Margaret. In spite of the many challenges that came along, she invested in the town’s tourism market and continues to work for the development of Strabane and the welfare of the people. We consider this one of the most heartwarming winner stories in the lottery world!
3. The Homeless Lottery Winner Stunt That Saved a Man from the Streets
Rahat is the YouTube vlogger behind the “Magic of Rahat” channel. In 2014, he wanted to make Eric, a homeless man, believe that he had won the lottery. He told Eric that he was giving him a winning ticket and that they should go to a clerk to find out how much he had won. The clerk, who knew about Rahat’s plan, gave Eric US$1,000 as if this was the amount of the prize. Eric couldn’t believe that this was actually happening and he even tried to give some of the money back to Rahat.
The video quickly became an internet sensation and more and more people wanted to pitch in to help Eric. Rahat created a Fundly account for Eric, which earned a whopping US$44,000 in just 14 days. The money was then used to rent him a home for an entire year and buy him everything from furniture and home appliances to clothing and medical insurance. He was also left with enough money in his account to get him a fresh start at life.
4. The Teacher Who Used His Jackpot Money to Help Children
Les Robins won a life-changing US$11.1 Crore Powerball jackpot in 1993 and he put it to good use. The high school teacher was saddened by the fact that kids don’t grow up enjoying the outdoors anymore, and he felt this should be changed. So, he used his money to set up his own camp for kids!
Robins bought 226 acres of land where he founded Camp Winnegator which operated for more than 10 years. It provided children an affordable place to go in the summer and swim, play sports, learn horseback riding and various crafts. The Les Robins story proves that happiness and luck are only real when shared! There are more amazing lottery winning stories that will certainly inspire you to start playing!
5. Lottery Winners Renovate Public Spray Park to Honor Their Parents
John and Linda Kutey played the Mega Millions in a syndicate along with their co-workers, and they ended up with a US$1.9 Crore prize. When they found out about the win, they immediately decided to pay their respects to their parents by giving back to their community.
When they went to the village hall to ask how they could help, the Kuteys were told they could contribute to the renovation of a local park which had an old wading pool. The couple donated US$2,00,000 to have it replaced with a brand new spray park!
This might seem like an unusual way to pay it forward, but the children in the community are happy they have a place to cool off and play around in the summer. The parents are also delighted it didn’t cost the taxpayers a cent as the Mega Millions winners covered all the expenses!
As you can see from these amazing heartwarming lottery stories, amazing wins can be used to create a better world for a great many people. These people are an excellent example of how lucky breaks can fuel tremendous changes for those in need. Hopefully, more and more lottery winners will follow in their footsteps because the world needs as many good deeds as it can get. What would you do with a Mega Millions jackpot? Buy your tickets on LottoSmile and make your very own happy ending come true!