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Good afternoon all.
I read a story today that really got me thinking about the generosity of others, and what I would do if I were in that situation.
The story is an elderly couple living in Eastern Canada won a lottery of just over 11 million dollars. At the time they won the woman was undergoing cancer therapy with chemo etc. There were in a very hard place.
Now, 4 months later they have giving 100% of the money away. They gave some to family, but the vast majority they donated to various charities.
Quote from the article:
"She and her husband said they feel privileged to be able to give back to the community, to help the firefighters, the doctors and nurses and the volunteers who have helped them. We’re the lucky ones," Violet said. "I have no complaints."
Source: Article
I find it amazing that even while in such a dire situation, these people did not take a penny of their winnings for themselves. Not sure I can say I would do the same. I would like to think that I would donate a significant portion to charity, but you never really know until you are in that position.
What does TL think? Very heartwarming story.
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wow;
almost every week i daydream about winning the lottery and never once thought about giving it all away.
it takes someone special to do a thing like that;
now i feel horrible...
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I certainly wouldnt give it all away. I might give some to family or friends, but I doubt I would give any to charities. Partly because I trust noone, but also because I think the money could be put to better use.
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On November 05 2010 06:59 jjun212 wrote:
wow;
almost every week i daydream about winning the lottery and never once thought about giving it all away.
it takes someone special to do a thing like that;
now i feel horrible...
Don't feel horrible, they're going to die soon anyways. Not enough time to even spend 11 million dollars.
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Can't put a price on beating cancer. My father has had cancer for like 6 years and the hospice has been amazing for my family. Very incredible though. Amen for people like this. +1 humanity, don't get a lot of stories like these.
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After reading this, I would still keep the money hands down.
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If I had cancer I would invest 9 million in the researches for the cure of cancer right off the bat.
Would keep the other 2 million to enjoy the life while the researchers work hard to fix me.
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I would donate $1 000 000 of it to a charity, take the receipt and get most of it back as a tax break. Nice story to read though.
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They actually gave away 98% of their winnings. This still doesn't take away anything of how great they are.
I also don't think it's fair to imply that they gave away their money because they were going to die soon and couldn't enjoy all of it (although they may have done so because they were going to die soon and wanted to be on god's good side). They could have easily have just spent the money on having a lavish lifestyle until they died or gave it all away to friends and family. Instead they donated it to a lot of places like fire-stations and hospitals so kudos to them.
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I'm pretty sure I'd give a lot of it away. Not necessarily charity, but friends, family, people I know in need or people who I feel have never gotten their big break and deserve it (especially those trying to develop the e-sports scene in America.)
I'd keep enough to live comfortably for the rest of my life through investments and stuff, but I'd be happy living in a nice apartment in a nice neighborhood. No need to go overboard. I'd probably finish school, too, even if I realistically didn't need to. I think I'd travel a lot (a lot) though.
I'd certainly love to have a lot of money and to win it in a lottery, but you can only spend so much I imagine before you are spending for the sake of spending. Why buy a million dollars worth of stuff if you only physically have time to use a small percentage of it? No point in owning a mansion (for example) when you really only need a room for sleeping in, a room for working in, a room for entertainment, a guest room (maybe) and a bathroom/kitchen.
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It seems like a good idea even from an egotistical outlook. 2% of $11m is enough to have a pretty good life for the remainder of their years, and they will probably feel happy for the rest of their life knowing they've helped a lot of people and did some good in this world. If they are religious I bet they feel like they pretty much secured their place in heaven as well.
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If I won the lottery, I would give it all away as well, not because I'm generous, but because I don't want free money. Material goods have a lot more value when you know you worked hard and saved up for it. Even though I wouldn't be able to buy as much stuff as I would if I won the lottery, I will cherish the little that I do have a lot more.
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On November 05 2010 07:18 Kralic wrote:
I would donate $1 000 000 of it to a charity, take the receipt and get most of it back as a tax break. Nice story to read though.
My thoughts exactly.
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What I don't understand is why do you play the lottery at all to begin with if you want to just give it all away. Seems very counterintuitive to me.
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it is shame that their good intention only fed those people who run the charities...you would be amazed how much money those people who run non-profit charities make...it's sickening
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On November 05 2010 07:38 GreatFall wrote:
What I don't understand is why do you play the lottery at all to begin with if you want to just give it all away. Seems very counterintuitive to me.
So they can give it away, maybe? It's not like those charities get million-dollar donations on a daily basis...
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On November 05 2010 07:18 Kralic wrote:
I would donate $1 000 000 of it to a charity, take the receipt and get most of it back as a tax break. Nice story to read though.
Lottery winnings aren't taxed in Canada so you wouldn't have to worry. Plus it'd a non refundable tax credit of $28972 so you'd get nothing back. You could probably wipe out your taxes payable for a few years if you still worked I guess
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On November 05 2010 07:38 GreatFall wrote:
What I don't understand is why do you play the lottery at all to begin with if you want to just give it all away. Seems very counterintuitive to me.
Forgive my ignorance but I am not sure how lotteries work in the US. In Canada they are often tied to charties or community/social programmes, and buying tickets directly benefits charities.
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I don´t think that´s so special, but then again I feel like a 90 year old anyway and have never given shit about moneyz.
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EPT
