An Inspiring Story of Selflessness

A retired Canadian couple who won $11.3 million in the lottery in July have already given it (almost) all away.

“What you’ve never had, you never miss,” 78-year-old Violet Large explained to a local reporter.
She was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer when the couple realized they’d won the jackpot in July.

Allen and Violet Large won the $11.2 million 6/49 draw. Harry Sullivan – Truro Daily News

“That money that we won was nothing,” her tearful husband, Allen, told Patricia Brooks Arenburg of the Nova Scotia Chronicle Herald. “We have each other.”

The money was a “headache,” they told the paper–mainly, it brought anxiety over the prospect that “crooked people” might take advantage of them. Several people called them out of the blue to ask for money when the news first broke that they’d won the jackpot. So they began an $11 million donation spree to get rid of it and help others, the Chronicle Herald reports:

 

Violet told the Canadian Press that they retained about 2 percent of the money for a rainy day.
“It made us feel good,” Violet told the Chronicle Herald. “And there’s so much good being done with that money.”

The Nova Scotia couple have been married more than 35 years and quietly saved up the money that Allen made as a welder and Violet made in retail before retiring.

“We haven’t spent one cent on ourselves because we’ve been too busy getting everything looked after and with my health, I have to wait to get my health back to get the energy to do anything,” Violet told the National Post. “We’re not travelers anyway. We live in the country and we’re proud of it. Money can’t buy you health or happiness.”

Now their neighborhood is abuzz over their good deeds.

“People who know them just know that’s the type of people they are—they’re just happy to have each other,” local restaurant owner Lori Hingley told the Canadian Press.
The prize was in Canada dollars (roughly equal to U.S. dollars at current exchange rates).

Yahoo News

Lion-Hearted

This video is amazing and tugs at your heart…

Random Quote. . .

“Promise me you’ll always REMEMBER: you’re BRAVER than you BELIEVE, and STRONGER than you SEEM, and SMARTER than you THINK.”-Christopher Robin to Pooh Bear

USAToday Pet Talk: New puppy found blind, yet joyful

I’m an animal lover and had to share this story…

DIVIDE, Colo. — The first snow of the season fell here last week.
Fast, fierce and gone in hours, these autumn storms that roll in while the golden leaves are still clinging to the aspens are a little unsettling, a little scary.

Especially, it’s safe to say, if you’re a puppy that’s never experienced snow or temperatures that low. Especially if you’re alone and scared. Especially if you’ve just gone blind. Especially if your brain’s been injured and your feet don’t work quite the way they have for the five months you’ve been walking on them.

The glossy black puppy, with the turned-up nose of a boxer and the long, silky ears of a Lab, had shivered and stumbled his way around the trailer park next to the Safeway parking lot for no one knows how long. Still, as frightened as he was, he licked every hand that reached out when he was taken to the Teller County Regional Animal Shelter.

The vet who examined the sweet-faced, long-legged puppy concluded he’d probably fallen from a vehicle, or had been thrown from one or hit by one. Whatever the trauma, it probably had been very recent, a brain-injuring event that caused him to bobble and jerk a bit when he walked and also robbed him of his vision (though he may still have had some peripheral sight in one eye).

Whoever had shared life with the puppy had either dumped him after the injury — unwilling to deal with a damaged dog — or decided he wasn’t worth searching for when he staggered off, as no one called to see if he’d turned up.

The TCRAS folks named the pup Pepper and set about trying to calm him. But the chaos in the shelter, which he couldn’t see and process in his usual way, terrified the young dog whose entire life had been upended in a split second. So they asked me, a volunteer dog walker there, to provide a temporary nest so he could adjust to his new realities.

Give the Gift of Life: Pledge to Be an Organ Donor

A short time ago Fox 2 Detroit aired a segment about organ donation. Henry Ford Health System was asking Michiganders to ‘show their heart’ on their drivers licenses and pledge to become an organ donor. At the same time, I stumbled across this incredibly moving video on MSN. Hopefully this will inspire others to give the gift of life…

Mom hears late daughter’s heartbeat…inside heart donee

Ovarian Cancer National Alliance ‘Shop + Give’ Program

The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance ‘Shop + Give’ program…just in time for the holidays. Shop at retailers such as Amazon.com and Macy’s and a portion of your dollars will support the work of OCNA. Click the logo below for more details…

Random Quote

We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends and living our lives. ~ MAYA ANGELOU