Lottery Winners Donate $1 Million To Veterans Charities

Last week three money managers stepped forward and claimed the $254 million dollar top prize ($103.5 million after taxes) from a recent Powerball lottery drawing. Some wondered if the men were claiming the prize to protect the identity of the real winners. They are the real deal.

The three co-workers, Greg Skidmore, Brandon Lacoff and Tim Davidson, are the only names associated with the Putnam Avenue Family Trust which was formed to handle the massive pool of money.

When they collected the usual over-sized check so often seen at Powerball photo-ops, the men announced that they would be donating a substantial portion of their windfall to charities.

Today we learned that the men are true to their promise as they have made large donations to groups helping veterans.

Five different charities each received donations in the amount of $200,000.

• The Bob Woodruff Foundation
• Building Homes for Heroes
• Services for the Under Served
• Operation First Response
• Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund

The lucky winners have said on many occasions that they hope other lottery winners and the wealthy will learn from their example.

Perhaps they learned from the Illinois lottery program that specifically benefits Vets with their "Veteran's Cash" instant scratch off tickets. The Illinois program has already donated over $9 million to Veterans charities.