Who hasn’t dreamt about winning a substantial amount of money on the lottery? But how many of us simultaneously dream about the people we could help with our money? The idea of winners deserving their win does tend to warm the heart a little. The recent high profile Powerball jackpot had the nation dreaming. But for one woman, the dream became a reality. Claiming a $343.9m (£270.3m) prize inspired Lerynne West to help those less fortunate than herself. She decided to donate $500,000 to a military veteran charity. What’s more, she almost lost the ticket before realising the big win.
military veteran charity to benefit from lottery winner
The Military Veteran Charity Set to Benefit
Lerynne had just moved into her new home and was still in the process of unpacking. At some point, the tickets fell out of her handbag and into the truck they borrowed for the move. Luckily they found the ticket and Lerynne was able to claim her prize. In a heart-warming speech at Powerball lottery headquarters, she declared it as a personal mission to use the money to “do good”. The first target for her philanthropy was The Travis Mills Foundation. As the daughter of a Vietnam veteran but having never served herself, she wanted to help out.
TMF helps veterans and their families overcome obstacles. Awareness of the mental and physical health difficulties of service men and women has received increased attention in the last decade. But that was not the end of her charity work. She immediately set about establishing a charity in honour of her son who lived for just one day having been born 15 weeks early. It’s always great to hear about the good work that lottery winners set about doing on hearing of their win. Thanks to a bumper lottery jackpot, a military veteran charity can help more people.