The Smith Trenton of NJ won an unbelievable power ball jackpot of $429.6 million just over a year ago and now the family are launching their project that aims to give back!
Mother Pearlie Mae Smith purchased the ticket for her and her seven adult children, changing their live in an instant! So the family decided it was their duty to change the lives of others too!
They chose cash so the actual sum they received was $284 million, split eight ways. Every member has given a large contribution to start the Smith Family Foundation.
Source, screengrab: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-jersey-lottery-eight-winners-will-divide-429-6-million-n573731
Valerie Arthur, one of Smith’s daughters told NJ.com:
“I could have gotten a yacht and never come back, but we just have a heart and mind to do this work,”
She continued:
“It’s a blessing to have the ability to do whatever you want to do in this life and yet you choose to come and help somebody else — that right there is divine intervention.”
Even at a young age the family were running a community garden in their yard and volunteering at a soup kitchen. And now their foundation aims to invest in organisations and progreams to bring long term change in education, local development, youth and families.
Harold Smith, Arthur’s nephew said:
“We want to fund programs that directly affect systems of poverty so we can help change the systems or change the dynamics that are causing people to be in poverty,” he said. “Rather than just helping them find food or give away food, we can make it so they now have the ability to obtain employment, get their proper education in order to be able to go out and get their own food.”
“When people think of the city of Trenton, we don’t want the first thing they think of to be gangs and violence,” he said. “We want people to think of a vibrant city, a city that’s on the upswing, a city that’s bringing new life into the community, the capital of the state.”
A grand opening of its headquarters at 407 W. State St., Trenton, will be June 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information, visit smithfamilyfoundationnj.org and read more on NJ.com.
This is wonderful. We need to build up our communities and take our streets back from violence. Children living in these communities deserve to play outside without gunshots. Have a great education without having to move. Create jobs within. This is just wonderful. We all need to help them and breach out to other communities of generational poverty as well