Thursday, February 28, 2013

Canadian couple who won $10.9 million in the lottery and donated 98 percent of that:



A Canadian couple who won $10.9 million in the lottery and donated 98 percent of that, they're just plain country folks who didn't need more than what they have. Allen and Violet Large said they won their fortune in a July 14 Lotto 649 draw and decided to save two percent for a rainy day and give away the rest.

"We have no plans. We're not travelers. We're not night-prowlers. We're not bar-hoppers. We're just ordinary country folk," said Allen Large, a 75-year-old retired welder. "We were quite happy with what we had and the way we were going."

After taking care of their family, the Larges donated almost 98 percent of their prize to churches, fire departments, cemeteries and the Red Cross in Lower Truro, as well as hospitals where Violet, who has cancer, has undergone treatment.

Large said he and Violet decided a week before they picked up their winnings to give most of it away. He said they had worked for 30 years in Ontario and put away money every year before retiring and returning home to Nova Scotia.

"We weren't millionaires before, but we had enough to keep us going in our retirement years," said Allen Large.

Word of the couple's generosity has generated a wealth of attention from the media both in Canada and abroad.

"We're not used to all this attention," Large said from the couple's modest home in Lower Truro. "We're just plain, old country folks."

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