USA Powerball winner donates $1.5 million – June 22nd 2011

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A West Virginia winner of the USA Powerball has proved himself to be a philanthropist, donating a large chunk of change to the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Board.

Randy Smith – who hit a $79 million lottery jackpot last summer – made the £1.5 million gift in person, with the money to be used to build a public recreation centre at Musselman High School, the Herald-Mail reports.

This isn’t the first time the 64-year-old has donated some of his lotto win. He has also spent more than $1 million on equipment for the emergency services and helped pay for a new park pavilion.

Mr Smith still plays the lottery however, saying he continues to do so “because I can see how much can be done [in the community] if you put it toward things that can be done”.

Similarly, Jeff and Billy Wilson from North Carolina – who won $88.1 million on the lottery in 2009 – have used their cash to help others, setting up a foundation and donating money to a boy who needed assistance paying medical bills.

See if you can hit the lotto big time at theLotter.