Carrie Edwards, a resident of Midlothian, Virginia, has won $150,000 in the Virginia Lottery and pledged to donate every penny to charity.
Edwards matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball in the September 8 drawing. Her original prize of $50,000 was tripled through the Power Play option, raising her winnings to $150,000.
Photo: Virginia Lottery
Edwards revealed she had used ChatGPT on her phone to generate the numbers, joking during a press conference, “I’m like, ChatGPT, talk to me… Do you have numbers for me?” Days later, she received a notification telling her to collect her lottery winnings. At first, she thought it was a scam but soon realised it was genuine.
“As soon as that divine windfall happened and came down upon my shoulders, I knew exactly what I needed to do with it. And I knew I needed to give it all away, because I’ve been so blessed, and I want this to be an example of how other people, when they’re blessed, can bless other people,” Edwards said.
The donation will be divided between three causes. The first is the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), a charity dedicated to research into the disease that claimed her late husband’s life in 2024. The second is Shalom Farms, a Richmond-based initiative focused on food justice and tackling food insecurity. The third is the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, an organisation her father, a fighter pilot, supported throughout his life.
Edwards explained that giving back felt like the right choice, “Because it’s a windfall I didn’t expect, and it’s certainly going to help those in need.”
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