Advertisement - story continues below
In Independence, Missouri, a little girl found a winning lottery scratch ticket, and what she did with it was absolutely what Thanksgiving is all about.
Phoebe Brown, only 7 years old, has a habit of picking up discarded lottery tickets, according to her family. On Nov. 9, the second grade student from Sycamore Hills Elementary School in Independence was shopping with her mother when she saw a lottery scratch ticket on the floor.
When she found out it was a winner, she reportedly knew exactly what she wanted to do with the winnings.
Advertisement - story continues below
As reported by KSHB in Kansas City, Phoebe was ecstatic when she discovered that the ticket was in fact a winner. Her mother, Audrey Brown was in disbelief.
“She’s like, ‘Mom, Mom, it’s a winner!’ I said, ‘No it’s not’,” Audrey said. “It was. It was a $100 winner.”
The lottery scratcher had all the numbers already scratched off, and bore the logo of the Missouri Tigers. Phoebe reportedly knew what a winning ticket looked like.
Advertisement - story continues below
“I saw that lottery ticket and it had a two on the back. I thought I’d better pick it up, and I told my mom it was a winner,” Phoebe told WDAF.
“Everything went through my mind. What could we do with it? What could Phoebe do with it?” Audrey Brown asked upon learning that the ticket was worth $100 dollars.
However, it was Phoebe who came up with the best way to use the money. Instead of spending it on herself, she wanted to help others.
Phoebe’s school had been collecting canned goods for the less fortunate, so Phoebe decided to donate the money to buy goods for the food drive. According to the U.K. Metro, Phoebe and her father went to Walmart, where they picked out an assortment of canned goods to add to the donation.
Advertisement - story continues below
“There have been times where I’ve been out of work, and we had nowhere to stay and our family’s taken us in, and helped us out. We’re thankful for our friends and our family,” said Joshua Brown, Phoebe’s dad, who reportedly matched what his daughter spent in order to add even more to the school’s drive.
The school’s gym teacher, Herb Horseman, had agreed to let the entire second grade shave his long bushy beard as a prize if they donated enough items to the food drive. With Phoebe’s lottery winning donation they were able to win that prize.
Phoebe told reporters that she learned from her parents how to be thoughtful and kind to others. Her generous story of giving serves as a reminder to us all that we can spread kindness and love to those in need.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Share this story on Facebook and Twitter and be sure to add your thoughts to the comment section below.
