5-Year-old Who Emptied Piggybank for Earthquake Relief Now Wins $48Mil Lottery Jackpot at 18

Juliette Lamour family photo / Ontario Lottery and Gaming

A delightful story from northern Ontario saw a 5-year-old girl’s good Karma wait 13 years to reward her.

Juliette Lamour won the state’s second-largest lottery jackpot in history, CAD$48 million, on her first-ever try. Local news from her home city of Sault Saint Marie revealed a touching side of the story—that at 5 years old Lamour made a very big act of charity, and the suggestion that her generosity has been rewarded is impossible to resist making.

It was 2010 and the island nation of Haiti had just been ravaged by an earthquake. Aid organizations from across the world rushed to help the people of the obliterated country stabilize and recover.

At the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds hockey team ice rink a branch of the Canadian Red Cross had set up a table to help raise money for Haiti, and Juliette and her sister Sophie were determined to help.

They upturned their big pink sharing piggy bank that day, out of which came $61.38.

Then last week, Juliette stepped forward as a young woman to claim the $48 million prize at the Ontario lottery offices.

MORE FROM CANADA: Best Friends Win Million Dollar Lottery and Spread the Wealth in Hometown to Help Others

She told Soo Today that she was on her way to bring her grandfather some ice cream.

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

MORE LOTTERY STORIES: Irish Woman Who Won $145M Lottery Has Given Over Half: ‘I’m Addicted to Helping People’

“I got to the corner store and I’m in my car—and I didn’t know how to buy it,” she said laughing. “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.’”

Fortunately for Lamour, her father is a financial advisor, so it’s unlikely to burn a hole in her pocket.

CELEBRATE This Young Woman And Her Good Karma…