If you were to win the lottery, what would you do with your winnings? Frances Connolly, who won a staggering £115 million in the EuroMillions Jackpot in 2019, has donated more than half of her winnings to charitable organizations, as opposed to buying a new house or flying around the world on a private jet like many others might do.
Frances Connolly, a former teacher from Hartlepool in County Durham, has given significant amounts of money to organizations that strive to improve the lives of others since winning the EuroMillions in 2019.
According to an interview with The Mirror, Frances stated that donating to charitable organizations “gives her a rush,” and added that “I get to impact people’s lives every day if I want to.” Helping others and taking action to improve their lives can make you feel better about yourself.
Giving to others, whether it’s your time or money, is incredibly important and can lead to addiction, as Frances has found. “Now that I’ve tried it, I can’t stop,” she said.
Although Frances has been very generous with her money, her husband Patrick has given her a “budget” after she spent the money set aside for charitable contributions over the next ten years in just six months.
“I’m at about 10 or 11 million paid straight to charity, but I don’t keep count in case Paddy finds it,” Frances said in reference to her most recent charitable contributions.
Frances also stated that her husband had provided her with a yearly budget for charitable organizations, which had already been used up. “It was planned to last until the year 2032,” she said.
As a former teacher and social worker, Frances laughed and said, “People do wonder, ‘How did you cope with that kind of money?'” She said, “I never did. It hadn’t been in the bank for the previous two days.”
Some of the charitable endeavors Frances has been involved in include donating $5,000 to purchase necessities for refugees in Ukraine, buying a £50,000 caravan for young caregivers, and establishing an awards program called “Local Heroes.”
Frances and her husband have also made it easier for elderly people to communicate with their loved ones during lockdown by providing technological tablets, as well as providing hospitals with pajamas and laptops.
Frances, who was born and raised in Northern Ireland, offered the following explanation: “If you can do nice things for people who are deserving, why wouldn’t you just do it?”
“It doesn’t make sense to me to have that kind of money and not use it to do some good in the world,” Frances said.
When Frances found out she had won the EuroMillions jackpot on January 1, 2019, she immediately had a plan for how she was going to spend the money.
It didn’t take long for the PFC Trust in Hartlepool and the Kathleen Graham Foundation in Ireland, named after Frances’ mother, to each receive £1 million in donations.
Frances also gave a first gift of £60 million to her three grandchildren, eight siblings, fifteen nieces and nephews, four great-nieces and nephews, and a few other random people.
Despite joking that her husband, Patrick, would have first spent the money on “an electric fence and machine gun turrets” to “guard their gains,” she knows he is just as supportive of her charitable endeavors as she is.
Frances continues to spread good will by organizing charitable events, with her most recent being a gala night at Hartlepool College that raised a total of one hundred thousand pounds. She emphasizes that her husband, Patrick, is just as supportive of her endeavors as she is. “He tells people that I’m the one doing the charity, but it’s his money, and if he wasn’t happy with what we were doing, we wouldn’t be doing it,” she said. “He tells everybody that I’m the one doing the charity.”
Giving away a significant amount of her winnings has not only brought Frances joy but also inspired others to do the same. She hopes her actions will encourage others to give back to their communities as well. She has expressed that “the more people who are generous, the better the world will be.”
As for the future, Frances has no plans to stop her charitable work. She has stated that “Money gives you the freedom to become the person you’ve always dreamed of being,” and she intends to use this freedom to make a positive impact on the world. She is driven to continue her charitable efforts and encourages others to do the same.
In conclusion, Frances Connolly’s story is one of generosity and kindness. Rather than using her winnings to indulge in material possessions, she has chosen to give back to her community and make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
Her actions serve as a reminder that money can be used for more than just personal gain and can have a positive impact on the world when used in the right way. Her selfless acts of kindness inspire others to do the same and make the world a better place for everyone.
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