Lottery Winner Favours Strangers Over Family
We all have plans on what we would do if we won a vast sum of money, from buying a new home to helping the family get a foot on the property ladder, but very few get to live out that fantasy. In 2019, one lucky woman from Hartlepool in Co Durham was able to put her money where her mouth is after winning a phenomenal £115million on the EuroMillions.
Frances Connolly, an ex-teacher and social worker, vowed to help those less fortunate than herself before she had even scooped the mega cash sum, by coming up with a novel idea to donate half of her fortune to worthy causes. After hitting the jackpot, Frances told her husband she would donate half the winnings to charities over a ten year period, but we’re just three years on and she’s already shelled out an additional £11m – most being direct donations to charity however, she has yet to tell her husband! Let’s hope he’s not reading this then!
Family Handouts Not on the Table:
When asked why she has given away multiple millions to strangers she said: “I get to change people’s lives. I’m addicted to it,” but now her hubby has come up with a “budget” and some affordability checks to stop her throwing all of her money away. The real-life fairy godmother even held a charity Gala night to raise more funds for good causes (because it gives her a buzz!), and at the end of the evening a further £100K was gathered for those less fortunate!
Frances has a large family comprising of three grandchildren, eight siblings, 15 nieces and nephews, four great nieces and nephews which would usually eat up a lot of cash, but it was revealed her daughters “were not going to get tens of millions,” instead, they got a house and some money to live comfortably but “they will have to work for anything else they want.” What a great attitude to have!
When asked why she does what she does for charity, Frances said: “I get to change people’s lives every day if I want to. Helping other people and doing something to help other people will lift you. If you can give to others, whether it’s time or money, it’s really important, it gives you a buzz. It’s addictive. I’m addicted to it now.”
World poverty is what is driving the super generous jackpot winner with some of her spending going to buy clothes and toiletries for Ukrainian refugees, fees to fund school transport for a young asylum seeker after he was forced from his home and she even shelled out £50K on a caravan for young carers. “It makes no sense to me to have that kind of money and not use it to do good in the world.”
No surprise to learn of her generosity when you discover Frances was a St John Ambulance volunteer aged nine before setting up an Aids helpline as a student in Belfast. Laptops and mobiles were donated to local hospitals during the pandemic to allow OAP’s to connect with loved ones. The New Year’s Day lottery winner revealed she has already met her husband’s “donation budget” which was designed to take her up to 2023. “We might have to revise it,” She joked.
What an absolutely lovely woman!
Source: “Woman Who Won £115m on EuroMilions Gives Away Half – and Can’t Stop Helping Strangers”, The Mirror. April 27, 2022.
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