When the Georgia lottery was begun in 1993, there was much skepticism voiced about the funds helping education. And while it’s said that someone has a greater chance of being struck by lightning than winning the lottery, more than $112 million has been won by Colquitt County residents.
This week, the Georgia Lottery Corp. released figures on who and how many people have been helped with these funds.
Lottery profits for the first half of fiscal year 2010 totaled $429,754,000, surpassing the previous record set last fiscal year by more than $8.49 million.
Colquitt County students, families and citizens have benefited greatly from the lottery’s success, with the Georgia Lottery as the only traditional lottery in the U.S. to experience 11 consecutive years of growth in profits, said Georgia Lottery officials.
In Colquitt County, since the Georgia Lottery’s inception in 1993, 3,103 university system students have received more than $14.4 million from Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program; 540 private college and university students have received more than $2.1 million from HOPE; and 7,349 technical college students have received more than $13.3 million from HOPE.
More than $25.8 million has gone to Colquitt County schools for Georgia’s Pre-K Program, benefiting 6,314 students. The county has received an additional $3.6 million for capital outlay and technology initiatives.
Colquitt County businesses also have benefited with local lottery retailers earning more than $12.7 million in commissions. Lucky Colquitt County residents have won more than $112.5 million. Many of those dollars have been reinvested into Georgia’s economy, officials said.
Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corporation has returned more than $11.4 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s Pre-K Program. More than 1.2 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary pre-kindergarten program.
For more information, please visit the Georgia Lottery Web site at www.galottery.com.
