Can you imagine yourself winning the lottery?
It would be awesome to hit the jackpot, especially if winning the lottery would mean getting a prize of over $145 million! It may be almost impossible to win the game, but there are lucky folks who actually win it. And one of them is Frances Connolly, 55 years old, a former social worker and teacher.
Back in 2019, Frances bagged a prize from the EuroMillions. The money pot she won was worth £115 million or equivalent to $145 million. But, instead of spending it all for herself, the kind woman decided to give most of it away.
Frances and her husband, 57-year-old Paddy, have agreed to set a budget for charity.
The woman is so “addicted” to helping people out that she and her husband decided to choose a charity to help each year from the cash they received from the lottery. Giving back is something they truly enjoyed, so the budget they set to give away until 2032 is already spent on charity work.
The couple set up two foundations.
One is named after her late mother, Kathleen Graham, while the other is in Hartlepool called PFC Trust. The latter supports refugees, the elderly, and local young carers. There are other fundraiser events conducted for these foundations to earn more for those in need of help.
When she won the lottery, Frances immediately thought of adding more to her fund for charity. She and her husband promptly gave away big amounts of cash to their chosen friends and family based on a list that the woman made even before she won. Talk about manifesting, right?
Frances already gave away more than $75 million since hitting the jackpot.
The former social worker does not track her donations. She joked that her husband would be worried if he saw just how much she was giving away for charity.
Giving money away to those who needed help gave her a feeling of happiness and thrill. It was something that she found to be very addictive and she is overjoyed that she won the lottery which gave her an opportunity to do what she loves.
“It gives you a buzz and it’s addictive,” she said. “I’m addicted to it now.”
Before winning the lottery, Frances already was fond of helping others. Giving back is a major part of who she is.
The woman always found a way to help and she did this not only through donating cash but also by giving her service and sharing her time. At only nine years old, Frances has already started volunteering. Her first volunteer work was for the St. John Ambulance.
It is a charity “dedicated to the teaching and practice of first aid and the support of the national emergency response system in England.” She even helped in setting up a helpline for AIDS when she was still in Belfast as a student.
Even if they won the lottery, Frances and her husband did not spend a lot on their own properties.
The most expensive they spent money on was a six-bedroom home in County Durham that comes with seven acres of land. Most of their winnings were given away in form of donations. Paddy even drives a second-hand Aston Martin and he still runs his plastic businesses.
Frances knows that her efforts are not enough to solve poverty completely, so she thinks of ways to improve the foundation and trusts she built so more people can benefit from them. Her kindness and selflessness is nothing short of inspiring.
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