Canadian Couple Give Away their $11 Million Lottery Jackpot

I bet that you’ve probably considered the question “What would you do if you won the lottery?” a million times.  An elderly couple from Nova Scotia, Canada, however, did something that you probably never considered doing in their situation – they gave it all away! The pair, Allen and Violet Large, both in their late 70’s, decided that there was absolutely nothing that they needed for themselves and therefore made the selfless decision to give away a staggering $11 million to charities.

The cash was handed to a wide number of needy institutions, including the Red Cross, cemeteries, churches and even the fire department.

Violet Large, who has just completed her final bout of chemotherapy for cancer, also made sure that a good sized chunk of the cash went to the hospital where she is being treated.

“What you’ve never had, you never miss,” she said philosophically. “We have an old house, but we’re comfortable and we’re happy in it.”

The home she is referring to is a 147 year old house in rural Nova Scotia and it’s amazing to think that two people who have worked and saved all their lives so that they could retire in comfort, wouldn’t want to spend even a little bit on themselves.

But Allen Large is adamant that the lottery would cause him and his wife “a big headache”.  His wife was also concerned that “crooked people” would take advantage of their new found wealth. With those sentiments in mind, they decided to give their fortune away to those who needed it more. Violet said that it made them feel good that the money went to those who needed it more. And her husband ended off with one of the most romantic statements I’ve heard in a while: “The money that we won was nothing – we have each other.”

I thought this was an amazing story of kindness and charity. I’ve read so many tales where lottery or casino wins have gone awry, with winners landing up drinking or playing it all away, that its heartwarming to hear of a couple who did such an amazing deed. Kudos to Mr. and Mrs. Large!