'We have dreams that we want to fulfill': Winners of $429 million Powerball set up anti-poverty foundation

A Trenton, New Jersey family, who won the $429 million Powerball last year is using its remaining winnings to open a philanthropic foundation, the Huffington Post reports.

The Smith family, who each received about $25 million in a lump sum, promised to spend the money to help their community. And as the Post reports, the Smiths made good on the promise.

“It was like affirmation from God because we each have dreams that we want to fulfill in this life, and do for our community and do for each other and for our families and we have been funded to do that,” Valerie Arthur said last year at a press conference after the family hit the jackpot.

After paying off student loans and other bills, the Smith family started the Smith Family Foundation, which focuses on the “values of hard work, love of God, and giving back.”

“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,” Harold Smith, the foundation’s program manager, said.

The Smiths plan to work with local organizations to create grant programs that will benefit Trenton residents. Smith said the foundation will focus on education, family development and child support.

“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,” Smith told NJ.com.

“When people think of the city of Trenton, we don’t want the first thing they think of to be gangs and violence,” he added. “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.”

Watch their press conference below, via Facebook: