$5M Lottery Winner: 'God Put Us Here to Help People'
A man from Ohio who won $5 million on the state lottery has said that he will use the money “to help people because I love it … and I think that’s what God put us here for.”
Phillip Withem, 54, from Logan, Ohio, won the Ohio State Lottery. According to The Daily Mail he originally won just $2,500. However, that automatically entered him into the “Top Prize Drawing,” where he won the $5 million.
He told ABC6: “I played a lot of tickets and won a lot. But I never dreamed I won big money.”
However, it has also been reported that Withem receives kidney dialysis, and is also in need of a kidney transplant.
Nevertheless, Withem reportedly plans to give much of his winnings away to children’s charities and to friends that were in need of help.
According to NBC4, Withem said, “I'm going to help people because I love it. It makes me feel good and I think that's what God put us here for.”
He explained that he especially wanted to help some of his former work colleagues at the Hocking County Courthouse, who helped him as he fell sick previously. “The people at the courthouse were really nice to me when I got sick," he said. "I really appreciate that.”