Denver, North Carolina, affectionately known as “Denver of the East”, is a sleepy little stretch of NC Highway 16 that hugs the western coast of Lake Norman. It is also home to Troy Perry who won the latest Mega Jackpot totaling $300 million. “I bought the ticket on a whim. I have never played the lottery in my life. This is crazy, but I know exactly what I am going to do,” he said about learning he was a new multi-millionaire.
Perry is a financial crimes consultant for an undisclosed firm who assigns him to large banks to help with federal banking compliance, he is married and has two young children. Joanna, his wife, is a craft brand manager for a local beer distributor and the children are in daycare until this fall when the oldest will begin kindergarten. One might think that a young family like this would be elated to learn all of their new found mega wealth, but the couple echoed each other, “This money is a real game changer, but that’s why we don’t want it. We like things just the way they are. Why change anything? Money doesn’t really make you happy. Besides, who wants to pay all those taxes?.”
Rather than pay off all their debt and splurge endlessly on friends and family, the Perrys have decided to donate 100% of the money to a local charity that helps people with reality disorders. The Foundation for People Who Can’t Tell Truth from Fiction (TFPWCTTF), was founded by a group concerned about the lack of people in this world who cannot tell when someone is playing a joke on them. When asked why he chose this charity Perry said, “It’s a real problem, and something needs to be done. I am hoping this money will be used to educate people on humor and the benefits of it. The world can be a dark place if your funny bone is broken.”