Sometimes good fortune can just fall on careless and irresponsible people but at other times, it falls on the good and kind-hearted ones who certainly understand how to spend their winning money. Those people are usually generous so that they don’t only waste their money on themselves without sharing the happiness for others. They realize that there is always part of the windfall need to be given to the people in need.

This is exactly what happened to Jackie and Gilbert Cisneros. They scooped a net $266 million in Mega Millions lottery in 2010 and that was the eighth largest total jackpot in the history of that lottery game. Gilbert was visiting an L & L Hawaiian BBQ when he decided to buy a Mega Millions ticket. And you know what happened next; he beat the odds of 175,711,536 to 1 in that one of the biggest lottery games in the world. It certainly does not happen every day, not even every year, and the Cisneros really take the chance to do good things in their life. The Cisneros may now live as one of those millionaires with that lavish style and they now have a luxurious house in Newport Beach. However, they never forget their previous low-leveled Latino environment in Pico Rivera, California. They feel the need of giving something back to their hometown where they had lived and bought the winning ticket that had changed their whole life.

Gil had learned from his own experiences in life to help him decide how to spend the money. He experienced difficulties to continue his study to college like many in the same neighborhood experience. It was lucky for Gilbert who had the chance of attending college due to scholarship and he wanted to give the same opportunity for other students. That is why he understands well how to share his happiness that is by giving scholarship to students from El Rancho High School, the only high school in Pico Rivera. The school actually has a good rate of graduation reaching up to 90 percent but not many of the graduates are lucky enough to be able to continue their study to college.

They give the scholarships through Hispanic Scholarship Fund to prepare fifty scholarships with the amount of $2,500 each which start in 2012. Although the institution mentions Hispanic in its name, the scholarship gifts are also available for all students. Gilbert’s wife, Jackie may not have experienced the bitterness to be in a working class as her grandfather was a former mayor of Pico Rivera. However, she seems to understand well on the situations that she supported fully to her husband’s dream of helping people. In honor of Jacki’s grandfather, Frank Terrazas Legacy Scholarship Program is also going to be made to provide scholarships to students in the future. The Cisnero’s scholarships will reach not less than$1.25 million in the next five years. This family is such a generous lottery winner because they also support the community programs that encourage post-secondary learning.

This story may be a good example of being wise lottery winners. You need to remember of wise things to do when you win in a lottery game. Just choose the ones closest to your heart like the Cisneros who concern a lot to the education aspect. You may think of donating some of your winning money in other areas such as sports, arts or perhaps simply by helping the poor. By sharing and spending the windfall for others, you will give more essence to the fortune as there are more people who can enjoy the same happiness as you do.