Carrie Edwards of Virginia wasn’t the big winner when she won $150,000 playing the Powerball recently – instead, that honor went to dementia research, food access and support for military families, the charitable causes to which she donated her entire prize.
Edwards, described by lottery officials as a widow and grandmother, has gained praise in parts of the web dedicated to finding uplifting news stories – along with the charities benefiting from her windfall – after buying an online ticket for the Powerball drawing on 8 September.
She matched four of the drawing’s first five numbers along with a key sixth numeral, according to administrators of the national US lottery whose players must overcome infinitesimal odds of 1 in 292m to hit the jackpot. Under the rules of the game played in 45 US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, that normally would have won Edwards $50,000. But she tripled that amount by having paid $3 instead of $2 for her ticket.
During a news conference held at the Virginia lottery headquarters after she went there to collect her prize, Edwards recounted how she had looked at her phone during a meeting when she received notification of her Powerball winnings. She recalled experiencing jubilation over her good fortune – but quickly realizing what she must do.
“I knew I needed to give it all away,” the resident of Midlothian, Virginia, said. “God is blessing me, so I can bless others.”
Edwards announced at that news conference that she would donate $50,000 each to the Association Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), Shalom Farms and the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society.
The AFTD dedicates itself to research, education and family resources for those affected by early-onset dementia. Edwards’s husband, who made his living as a firefighter, died from frontotemporal degeneration, and the AFTD’s donation was meant to commemorate him, Powerball officials said in a news release.
Shalom Farms, for its part, grows and distributes 400,000 servings of certified, naturally grown produce annually. The non-profit farm says it is striving for an equitable food system in Virginia’s capital, Richmond.
And the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society provides financial, educational and emergency assistance to active-duty service members, veterans and their families.
“These three organizations represent healing, service and community,” said Edwards, who mentioned growing up in a Navy family.
AFTD’s chief executive officer Susan Dickerson said Edwards’s gift would “directly support vital research and family services in the fight against” frontotemporal degeneration. Shalom Farms’s executive director Änna Ibrahim said Edwards’s donation would benefit families throughout Richmond. And the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society’s CEO, Lt Gen Robert R Ruark, said Edwards’s support would aid military members “and their loved ones during times of financial stress”.
A Virginia lottery official told local media: “Very rarely do we have winners do what Carrie is doing here.”
Edwards said she considered it a blessing that her Powerball win could “serve a greater purpose”, and she added that she hoped others would be inspired to give back.
It would not be unheard of.
For instance, in 2019, a South Carolina woman who won a $1.5bn Mega Millions jackpot donated millions to the Ronald McDonald House Charities as well as the Alabama Red Cross for tornado relief.
Meanwhile, during the first year after winning a $25m lottery in Canada in 2012, a man named Bob Erb reportedly estimated making about $8m in charitable donations and gifts to individuals, including cars and dental care for people who needed it but couldn’t afford either.