A B.C. man who won $4.9 million in the latest Lotto 6/49 draw plans to quit his job as a heavy equipment operator at a mine, so he can dedicate his time to volunteering instead.
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Douglas Lowes, 50, of Cranbrook, won half of the lottery jackpot last weekend, with a ticket he purchased on his way home from a volunteering stint. "I like volunteering," Lowes told reporters at the B.C. Lottery Corporation office in Vancouver on Monday. The heavy equipment operator, who alternates his shifts between four days on and off, says he enjoys helping others.
"I had some spare time, so I thought I might as well volunteer," he said. "I did two hours with the (Salvation Army) Christmas Kettle, and when I was done that I felt pretty good. I walked into the mall and bought tickets."
Lowes recalls joking around with the clerk when he bought his ticket, calling it a "donation" to the lottery. "It turns out it wasn't," he said.
Now he plans to dedicate more of his time to helping others as a "semi-professional" volunteer. "I'd rather be doing stuff that I really enjoy rather than working for somebody else," he said.
The married father of two won't be walking off the job immediately. Instead, he'll move up plans for a Cuban vacation to before Christmas.
"I have to go back (to work) and do some proper closure there, but I'll be quitting," he said. "I'm 50 years old. Why would I work if I don't have to?"
Lowes says he wants to spend the money on experiences, not on accumulating things.
His first big experience will be to move up a vacation to Cuba, so he can take his wife and sons, ages 15 and 17, before Christmas. "They have no idea how their life's going to change," he said.
With files from CTV Vancouver
