Powerball lottery winners award $1 million in grants

Dec 5, 2011, 12:24 pm (39 comments)

Powerball

STAMFORD, Conn. — Three Connecticut men who claimed a $254 million Powerball jackpot last week made good on their statement that they would be immediately donating a sizable amount to charity.

The trustees of the Putnam Avenue Family Trust has awarded their first $1 million in charitable grants to five veteran support organizations.

The Putnam Avenue Family Trust was set up after the winning Connecticut lottery ticket, worth $254 million, was bought.

The organizations were selected on their proven ability to work with veterans who are in need of emotional, physical or career support.

Trustees Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson stated, "We cannot think of a more urgent priority than addressing the needs of those men and women who have defended our nation. Many of these veterans are faced with a myriad of real and immediate personal issues that range from trauma to foreclosures. These grant awards reflect the beginning of a process that allows us to leverage lottery winnings into materially helping our society."

Each of the five organizations selected will receive $200,000. The organizations include: The Bob Woodruff Foundation , Building Homes for Heroes , Services for the Under Served (S.U.S.), Operation First Response and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund .

S.U.S. Chief Executive Officer Donna Colonna said, "We are stunned by the generosity and heartened by the fact that the Trust has heard our call to action. By helping the thousands of veterans who have returned from our nation's wars, and who are now need of assistance, we are keeping faith with those who have worn the uniform, defended our freedoms and suffered terribly from that experience. We are thankful to the Putnam Avenue Family Trust but more important, we are grateful that they are giving us the financial tools to sustain our veterans support programs."

"We are extremely humbled and thankful - especially during this holiday season - to be considered by the Putnam Avenue Family Trust for this kind of generosity," said David Winters, President of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Foundation. "As our troops return home from Iraq this month, we are ramping up our efforts to serve the needs of those suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress, the signature injuries of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. This donation will greatly help our efforts to construct satellite centers that will help diagnose and treat those conditions, working in conjunction with the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) in Bethesda, which we opened last year."

"The Bob Woodruff Foundation is grateful to be the recipient of such a generous donation from the Putnam Family Trust demonstrating their commitment to the men and women who have volunteered to serve our country. This donation will allow our Foundation to support injured service members and those who care for them in the areas of employment, education and other meaningful activities to help them reintegrate after they transition home from the battlefield," offered Bob Woodruff, journalist, ABC News and Co-Founder of the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

President of Operation First Response, Peggy Baker, said, "Our organization has the honor of serving our nation's Wounded Heroes and their families on a daily basis. To the families we serve, this generous donation will be making a significant difference in their lives. The staff and board members of Operation First Response consider this a Christmas miracle and wish to express our deepest gratitude to the Trustees of Putnam Avenue Family Trust."

"Building Homes for Heroes couldn't be more ecstatic about this incredible act of patriotism and generosity. This tremendous donation will help our organization build a minimum of four homes for severely wounded American heroes in the coming year. By helping the brave men and women realize the American dream of home ownership, The Putnam Avenue Family Trust is making a significant difference in the lives of some very special families. On behalf of those who return home severely injured, we thank The Putnam Avenue Family Trust from the bottom of our hearts, explained Andy Pujol, the group's Founder and President.

Restating their early comments this week, the Trustees explained, "We are leveraging our professional experience and our collective success in money management to ensure these lottery dollars go far further than their face value. If we are successful, we believe the creation of this Trust, and its legacy, will serve as a national model for others who have been equally fortunate in winning sweepstakes and now seek to use those dollars to touch the lives of others."

WTNH

Comments

hearsetrax's avatarhearsetrax

Lurking

louise black

That very good no matter what the outcome will be, congrat once again to the trios.BananaPatriotMen of their words and that 's the best kind honorable.

THRIFTY's avatarTHRIFTY

Quote: Originally posted by hearsetrax on Dec 5, 2011

Lurking

$1 million to three organizations that support veterans is not enough money.$3 millions would have been better.If I win a sum like they did I would donate more than a $1 million. I wonder if they did it as a tax deduction strategy, if it was then it was not a real donation to veterans.when I win I will donate to veterans but not as a tax deduction.

Nino224's avatarNino224

I love it!

Nino224's avatarNino224

Quote: Originally posted by THRIFTY on Dec 5, 2011

$1 million to three organizations that support veterans is not enough money.$3 millions would have been better.If I win a sum like they did I would donate more than a $1 million. I wonder if they did it as a tax deduction strategy, if it was then it was not a real donation to veterans.when I win I will donate to veterans but not as a tax deduction.

It's a scary, cynical world out there, and this is the sort of mentality jackpot winners face. Those guys have already had a taste of it, and my guess is it's only going to get worse if they don't isolate themselves immediately. That's why you never go public!

cbr$'s avatarcbr$

I Agree!I agree that this money couldn't have been better used then to help our service  men & women, the troops.    God bless the troops that put their life on hold & lives on the line for us to continue to enjoy the Freedom of Choice we have.

TheRightPrice

I have never heard of anyone who won the lotto, so quick to publicly donate money. They just added more fuel to their own controversy.

But in the end, I did not win, so whateverCrazy

stripesnsolids's avatarstripesnsolids

Mocking someone else's generosity doesn't look good on you.  Everyone has their own different level of generosity and it's their money to do what they please with it.

Mario38

Quote: Originally posted by THRIFTY on Dec 5, 2011

$1 million to three organizations that support veterans is not enough money.$3 millions would have been better.If I win a sum like they did I would donate more than a $1 million. I wonder if they did it as a tax deduction strategy, if it was then it was not a real donation to veterans.when I win I will donate to veterans but not as a tax deduction.

Wow! This has to be one of the worst comments of the year.

THRIFTY's avatarTHRIFTY

Quote: Originally posted by Mario38 on Dec 5, 2011

Wow! This has to be one of the worst comments of the year.

I had to apologize to Gred Skidmore for my comment.I also received a message with the Gred signature on it. You can see it at this thread https://www.lotterypost.com/thread/239754

But I still believe that $1 million is not enough money in these inflationary times.

rooster8786

giving away less than 1/2 of 1 percent does NOT represent a "sizeable amount" to me.  It's a media ploy ONLY...

CLETU$

Quote: Originally posted by THRIFTY on Dec 5, 2011

$1 million to three organizations that support veterans is not enough money.$3 millions would have been better.If I win a sum like they did I would donate more than a $1 million. I wonder if they did it as a tax deduction strategy, if it was then it was not a real donation to veterans.when I win I will donate to veterans but not as a tax deduction.

Personally,I think that any money donated is more than enough,seeing as they are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.Thank god it isn't required (yet) to donate money to worthy causes.If they get a tax deduction for the donation,so what.At least they are getting something back for the MILLIONS OF DOLLARS that the government took from them in the form of taxes.

THRIFTY's avatarTHRIFTY

Quote: Originally posted by TheRightPrice on Dec 5, 2011

I have never heard of anyone who won the lotto, so quick to publicly donate money. They just added more fuel to their own controversy.

But in the end, I did not win, so whateverCrazy

Everything about these winners raise doubt. I do not blame you. I think warren buffet makes a $1 million every month with his investments.He donated most of his wealth to charities and gave nothing of it to his children.

THRIFTY's avatarTHRIFTY

Quote: Originally posted by rooster8786 on Dec 5, 2011

giving away less than 1/2 of 1 percent does NOT represent a "sizeable amount" to me.  It's a media ploy ONLY...

Thank you very much.You are a very smart person.That is the way I see it.

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