Five-year-old who emptied piggybank to donate to charity wins $48 million lottery 13 years later

A Canadian who, as a child, emptied her piggy bank to help the victims of an earthquake has been hit with a big old bout of karma as she won millions of dollars on the lottery.

If that doesn't encourage you to do a good deed today, I don't know what will.

Juliette Lamour was just five years old when she and her sister Sophie emptied the contents of their shared pink piggy bank for a branch of the Canadian Red Cross, which had set up a table to help raise money for Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake.

The sisters donated $61.38 (£37) - a pretty impressive amount for two children, and Juliette went about her days with no idea what fortune would come her way 13 years later.

On 3 February, a now-18-year-old Juliette revealed herself to be the winner of the $48-million (£29.4m) Gold Ball draw which took place on 7 January.

Now a student of Algoma University student, Juliette had been on her way to take her grandfather some ice cream when she decided to buy her first ever lottery ticket.

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Recalling the series of events, Juliette said: "I called him on the phone asking what kind of ice cream he wanted. And he said to me: ‘You just turned 18, go buy a lotto ticket, test your luck.’ So I did.

“I got to the corner store and I’m in my car — and I didn't know how to buy it. So I had to call my dad. I said: ‘Dad, Grandpa wants me to buy a ticket. How do I do it?’ He's like: ‘Oh, just go inside and get a QuickPick'."

Whether you want to call it beginners luck, karma, or just plain coincidence, Juliette picked the winning ticket.

Her first call was to her mother, with Juliette recalling: "She answered the phone and I was like: ‘I won the lottery!’ She’s like: ‘No you didn’t!’ ”

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Though she now has enough money to do basically whatever she wants, Juliette plans to continue with her four-year university program and hopes to attend the Northern Ontario School of Medicine before coming back to practice in Northern Ontario.

Her father, financial advisor Kevin, is sure to advise Juliette on the best way to spend her new influx of cash as the teenager admitted it was 'a lot' to think about.

“I have to think about it," she said. "We’re definitely going to keep friends and family in mind. And tonight, I’m still a university student so I’m planning on finishing my biology report.”

Topics: Money, World News

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is the Community Desk Lead at LADbible Group. Emily first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route. She went on to graduate with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University before contributing to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems. She joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features, and now works as Community Desk Lead to commission and write human interest stories from across the globe.