TRENTON, N.J. — A year ago this month, the Smith family's lives changed in an instant when they won the $429.6 million Powerball jackpot.
The family of eight — matriarch Pearlie Mae Smith and her seven adult children — didn't throw away the money on expensive new houses or luxury sports cars or write checks willy-nilly to the dozens of long-lost friends and relatives who came out of the woodwork.
Sure, they treated themselves, but from the beginning, they knew they wanted to do something meaningful with their newfound wealth.
Since they chose the cash option, their prize came to about $284 million and was split eight ways.
(See NJ family of 8 claims $429.6 million Powerball lottery jackpot, Lottery Post, May 13, 2016.)
The family members each gave a portion of their winnings to help start the Smith Family Foundation, a grantmaking fund with which they hope to give back and make a difference in their hometown of Trenton and elsewhere for years to come.
Just as it was "divine intervention" that inspired Smith to pick the winning numbers, the family says it's that same faith in God that continues to help guide them in their decisions.
"I could have gotten a yacht and never come back, but we just have a heart and mind to do this work," said Valerie Arthur, one of Smith's daughters. "It's a blessing to have the ability to do whatever you want to do in this life and yet you choose to come and help somebody else — that right there is divine intervention."
Arthur said the importance of giving back was a lesson they learned at a young age, from starting a garden in their backyard for the community's use to volunteering at the soup kitchen.
"I think that seed has always been with us... but after winning the lottery, we're able to do it on a much larger scale now than we have in the past," Arthur said.
Harold Smith, Arthur's nephew and the foundation's program manager, said that rather than simply giving away money to anyone who asks, they see themselves as investing in organizations and programs that will bring about long-term change in categories like education, neighborhood development and youth and families.
"We want to fund programs that directly affect systems of poverty so we can help change the systems or change the dynamics that are causing people to be in poverty," he said. "Rather than just helping them find food or give away food, we can make it so they now have the ability to obtain employment, get their proper education in order to be able to go out and get their own food."
He said they want to partner with organizations that share their core values of education, cultivation, transformation and urban ministry.
"When people think of the city of Trenton, we don't want the first thing they think of to be gangs and violence," he said. "We want people to think of a vibrant city, a city that's on the upswing, a city that's bringing new life into the community, the capital of the state."
Funding will range from small-impact grants and summer programming to one-year and three-year grants.
"We're making an investment in our community and when you make an investment, you expect a return," Arthur said. "So we want to see what the social return is going to be, what the educational return is going to be, what the transformations in people's lives is going to be."
Katherine Nunnally, another of Smith's daughters who for 15 years has led a program to mentor young women in Newark, serves as the executive director and is training her siblings as well as her nieces and nephews on how to run a foundation.
"The foundation is a legacy for the family," Harold Smith said.
A grand opening of its headquarters at 407 W. State St., Trenton, will be June 10 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information, visit smithfamilyfoundationnj.org.
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I love to hear stuff like this
Good news about good people making good use of their devine gifted resources.
God Bless
Eddessa_Knight
This is exactly what I want to do. Grants are the best way to go.
Good for them. Not gonna lie though, if I ever won the jackpot, I'm going to Vegas.
This family has a good head on their shoulders, figuratively speaking. Stay blessed.
Good luck to them. They need to be careful. After all the federal and state taxes are paid, divided by 8, they are left with about $18.6 mil each. I know it sounds like a lot but over the remainder of their lives and providing for their own children, it disappears. If they stick to their plans of small grants, hopefully they can improve a lot of lives.
Trenton, New Jersey should be proud of this foundation. I am certain that the New Jersey Lottery is loving this story.
That's wonderful and their blessings will continue. One awesome family!
It's great that they are sharing the wealth and trying to narrow economic inequality in their area. But I wonder how they get a return in investment with a grantfunding?
I'm amazed by how much impact you can have in society when you hit six figures.
"the Smith family"
What a convenient name for a lottery winner.
"Pearlie Mae"
What an inconvenient first name for a lottery winner whose last name is Smith.
What a great(ful) graceful family. An inspirational way to make use of a mega jackpot win.
Very nice
That's their choice
they are teaching folks how to fish (so to speak).
Best way to save a community is to provide for yourself and be one less burden on others. They are lightening the burden I suppose.
and i am sure they have, the younger adults (referring to the mother's adult children, are all young forties, thirties late 20s, early fifty the older one early part of fifties,i am sure they ALL party some in A.C., or Vegas to diff places.But to know they are doing something more larger than that is why they are blessed as they are. 1 of the best lotto stories i've ever heard.What a nice family to do this,i would to. Worse thing is for those who are starving/homeless. Who want to work but are not hired premised on diff reasoning/some clearly unfair,so god bless this nj family.
Great Story!!
Nice to give back to help others
Nice story but
....boring.
I like those crash and burn stories. Those are interesting and tragic at the same time.
I know for myself I plan skip the charity route entirely with the given exceptions of the most worthy orgs
and cat shelters
We need a family just like that in Charlotte.
This is exactly what I am doing on lotterypost with altruism lottery project. Smith family is right on target.
My wife is also a Smith descendent from a seven child family. My system is the Seven Suns of Solar-IS, which so often show winning numbers.
My goal #1 is to help others win, with the best choice of numbers possible, using the solar-IS. Solar-IS by paneagle provides winners on lotterypost.com for all major drawings and some state drawings, using the solar clock and the number crunching system using mostly the position of the sun. It works. SOLAR STAR LOTTERY forum in lotterypost.com
The real goal #2 is to create fun(d)ing which allows everyone to be win, and thus to act freely, have opportunity, do good all around, support others who will be pure and clean and true. It would be good if others played and those like the Smith family who could win again, and do even more. One goal also includes the getting out from under the foot of the landlord trumps and corporations who would ruin the planet for executive profit and self-centered interests.
This also includes Goals #3 4 and 5 for helping people become self-sufficient, and community to live in a real natural environment, such as building agriculture hydroponics gardens and food supply systems, or the NU U solar research vessel to reveal the wonders of the world for our use, and the real awareness of what is going on with our natural environment, including the degradation of land air water and soil by corporations, as well as #5 create CARE children are REAL EDUCATION. These three alone would be magnificent.
Paneagle here does INVITE the SMITH's and all those reading to realize this is the most wonderful incentive to win the lottery.
Once again, love positive uplifting stories like this.
I was ready to throw in the towel on the New York lottery and multiple winners from a few folks. Leave 'em alone and more power to them. I mean as Opray Winfrey would say 'who cares'?
Hey, the intervention of GOD in your aspect is Highly commendable! Lots of Best wishes to you and your
family members for your commitment. I cannot appreciate the things you are doing in WORDS!
I am proud of you...
KAMALAKAR
I have a candy machine route in that area. Interesting people and people like that is awesome.
Divine intervention by god? Yeah, riiight...
Hope that when you fill up the candy machines you stop and play the lottery in NJ. Seems like they have more big winners there then Pennsylvania.
Well Max, as one person told me awhile ago that if folks claim it was " divine intervention" and you doubt it , perhaps their god is Siva the destroyer, who destroys others dreams but keeps their's intact.
Nope. Just pure religious BS.
If i ever win a major jackpot, i would make sizeable donations to some homeless shelters and childrens hospitals.
Sounds good.....