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What N.J. family did after winning $429.6M lottery

The Trenton-based foundation awards grants to community charities.

The Smith Family at a news conference last May announcing they were Powerball winners.
The Smith Family at a news conference last May announcing they were Powerball winners.Read moreNew Jersey Lottery

Pearlie Mae Smith says it was divine intervention that inspired her to pick the winning Powerball numbers for a drawing last year that had $429.6 million jackpot.

But there would be no grand spending for her or her seven adult children.

First off she and her family opted for the cash option — taking about $284 million, before taxes.

From there, Smith and her children knew they wanted to give back to improve the lives of residents in their hometown of Trenton, NJ.com reports.

They split the post-tax winnings and each gave a portion of  to start the Smith Family Foundation. So far, it has given away $16 million, NBC10 reports.

The foundation awards grants to organizations and programs committed to long-term change in education, neighborhood development and youth and families, NJ.com reported.

"We want to fund programs that directly affect systems of poverty so we can help change the systems or change the dynamics that are causing people to be in poverty," Harold Smith, the foundation's program manager, told NJ.com.

Giving to others is nothing new for the family. Pearlie Mae Smith, a former paraprofessional for Trenton Public Schools, along with her husband Seamon, raised the seven children to study and work hard, attend church, volunteer and to help others.

"I could have gotten a yacht and never come back, but we just have a heart and mind to do this work," said Valerie Arthur, one of Smith's daughters, told NJ.com. "It's a blessing to have the ability to do whatever you want to do in this life and yet you choose to come and help somebody else — that right there is divine intervention."