News writer
It started with a scramble, a scare, and an email that seemed too good to be true. Nancy Fisher, co-president of the Trumbull Historical Society, was bracing for bad news about funding.
But what she got instead was a surprise message from a supermarket that left her wondering: Is this real life? What unfolded next ties together a lucky lottery ticket, a generous community, and a story you'll want to hear to the end.
An email that changed everything
Nancy Fisher, co-president of the Trumbull Historical Society in Connecticut, was worried about the future of her non-profit. She had received some troubling news about future funding for the program, which could be significantly affected due to federal budget cuts.
As she was scrambling to figure out a way for the non-profit to continue on its mission of enriching the community through historical storytelling, she received an email that changed it all.
The email? It came from Stop & Shop and mentioned the Society would be getting a donation, but Fisher was concerned it wasn't legit. “When I first got the email, I didn't know if it was legit. I asked myself, 'Wait, is this for real?' … I almost fell over,” she told lottery officials.
Yes, the email from Stop & Shop was legit and was about to make a huge difference for Fisher and the Society.
A big lottery win started it all
This all happened because a lottery player went into the Stop & Shop, located at 100 Quality Street in Trumbull, and purchased a $1,000,000 Titanium scratch-off ticket from the Connecticut Lottery retailer back in February. That player happened to win the top prize in the scratch-off game, taking home the $1 million prize.
For selling the winning ticket, the Stop & Shop received a special bonus of $10,000 from the state lottery. The supermarket chain wasn't sure what to do with the money, so they decided to reinvest the money back into the community, which led to the generous donation to the Trumbull Historical Society.
Special check presentation
The donation took place this week, as a special check presentation took place with representatives from Stop & Shop, the Connecticut Lottery, and the Trumbull Historical Society. There were also several customers from the grocery store that watched the special moment, as the store announced over the intercom that the check presentation was being made.
At the presentation, Connecticut Lottery President and CEO Frank Suarez said:
We are honored to stand with Stop & Shop in support of community partners such as the Trumbull Historical Society. The Connecticut Lottery is proud to assist our retail partners in supporting the communities in which they operate.
Stop & Shop District Director was happy the store could make the donation:
The Trumbull Historical Society has done so much to honor the traditions and history here in Trumbull. As a community partner, we want to honor the pride our neighbors have. We wanted to make sure the Society has the community funding it needs to do this important work. It comes down to being local and being in the community that we serve.
The Society has plans for the donation
Now that Fisher has the donation money in hand, she said the Society will use it to go towards several different initiatives, including potentially preserving, protecting, and telling the story behind a historic one-room schoolhouse that dates back to the late 1800s.
While the schoolhouse was disassembled for preservation purposes, the Society is hoping to rebuild and refurbish it to continue telling the story of the town.
“That's one way of preserving Trumbull history,” said Fisher. “It's important to the town.”
And this is all being done because of the very generous donation from the Stop & Shop. With one more top prize remaining in the $1,000,000 Titanium scratch-off game, maybe someone else will get a generous donation.
Enjoy playing the Connecticut Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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