It would be hard to find many people more deserving of a lottery win than Thelma Florence.
The Hope resident is a member of the Chawathil First Nation and a survivor of the St. Mary’s Mission and Residential School.
She now visits schools throughout the Lower Mainland to speak about her experiences and share her story with young people to promote awareness about the residential school system.
Florence says she will continue to do just that, with an emphasis on the significance of truth-telling, after a life-changing windfall came her way earlier this month.
On April 1, she won a Guaranteed Prize of $1 million from the Lotto 6/49 draw. It may have been April Fools’ Day, but this was no joke.
According to Florence, her hometown was buzzing on the night of the draw after learning that there had been a local winner.
She nervously checked her ticket on the BCLC app the next morning and was in shock when she discovered her good fortune.
“I thought, ‘Is this real? Me? Really?’’’ she recalled. “I sent a screenshot of the app into the family group chat and everyone wondered if it was a late April Fools’ Day joke.”
Florence, who bought the winning ticket at Bee’s Food Market in Hope, said she’s “happy and excited” for her and her family.
She plans on buying a new car in her favourite colour, green, and will also use some of the winning to help get her grandchildren into vehicles as well.
