A New Jersey family that won the $429.6 million Powerball jackpot last May are paying it forward by investing in their community.
NJ.com reports that Pearlie Mae Smith and her seven adult children each contributed a portion of their lottery winnings to help start the Smith Family Foundation in their hometown of Trenton. They reportedly purchased the winning ticket with a cash option, which reduced their payout to $284 million.
According to its website, the foundation’s mission is to empower the community, cultivate leaders and transform lives by providing grants to Grassroots organizations in the city.
Funding will fall into 3 categories: summer programming, one-year grants, and a multi-year grant.
“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,” said Harold Smith, the program’s fund manager and nephew of Smith’s daughter, Valerie Arthur.
“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.”
Smith also said the foundation is “a legacy for the family.”
The grand opening of the organization’s headquarters will be on Saturday, June 10 in Trenton, NJ.
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