‘I knew that I needed to give it all away’: Midlothian woman donates all of her $150,000 lottery prize
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- After winning a $150,000 lottery prize, Carrie Edwards of Chesterfield County is donating it all to charities near and dear to her heart.
The three organizations she's donating to said they're surprised she won, but aren't surprised by her generosity.
“As soon as that divine windfall happened and came down upon my shoulders, I knew exactly what I needed to do with it, and I knew that I needed to give it all away," Edwards said. “Because I've been so blessed and I want this to be an example of how other people, when they’re blessed, can bless other people," she said.
Carrie Edwards will donate the entirety of her $150,000 lottery prize.
The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), focused on researching a cure for dementia and helping those impacted by the disease, will get a chunk.
The donation is made in honor of Edwards' late husband and high-school sweetheart, Steve, who passed on New Years’ Eve. He was diagnosed with early on-set dementia at 57 years old. The pair had built their life in Fairfax County, but after the diagnosis, moved to Richmond to be closer to their three children and six grandchildren for the remainder of his life.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Steve was the battalion chief of quadrant 4 at the Pentagon and worked in the burn pits.
"This generous gift will directly support vital research and family services in the fight against FTD," said CEO at AFTD Susan Dickerson.
Edwards held a photo of her late husband, Steve, while talking about the organizations she's donating to.
The second organization, Shalom Farms, is a non-profit farm and food organization in Richmond focused on an equitable food system. It grows and distributes over 450,000 servings of produce every year.
"Her gift will ensure that families throughout Richmond continue to have access to high-quality, affordable fresh produce," said executive director Anna Ibrahim.
Edwards said at least once a week, she’s at the farm, digging in the dirt, harvesting fruits and vegetables.
“We harvest, we plant, we bless the food, we bring it to market, we talk to the people," she said.
The third organization, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, will receive the donation in honor of Edwards’ father, who passed away at 96 -- the same year as Steve. Edwards and her father both graduated from the Naval Academy, and he was a fighter pilot and a hero.
The society helps veterans and active-duty Sailors, Marines and their families with financial and educational assistance.
“The message of what you have done will amplify," Lottery executive director Khalid Jones said when presenting the check. "Not even just for the three charities you're talking about, but the message of philanthropy overall."
Edwards won on Sept. 8 using an online ticket from the Virginia Lottery, something she'd never done before. With the help of ChatGPT giving some number suggestions, she picked her five. In the end, the first four numbers matched the winning numbers, plus the Powerball number in the Powerball drawing.
She typically would’ve won $50,000, but the Virginia Lottery said because she paid an extra dollar for “Power Play,” it tripled the prize.
A few days after buying her ticket, Edwards said was sitting in a meeting when she saw an email saying she’d won, assumed it was a scam. But sure enough, she had won.
The $150,000 is a pre-tax number. It'll end up being around $108,000 once a 24% federal tax and 4% state tax are taken out. That's $36,000 to each organization.
According to the Virginia Lottery, all profits go to K-12 education and raised more than $901 million in fiscal year 2025, 10% of the Virginia school system's budget.
