LANSING, Mich., – It’s been five years since Phillip and Dawn Chippewa won an $80 million Powerball jackpot, and as the couple sit inside a horse arena on their 25-acre ranch, they are beaming with pride. They explain how important Serenity Ranch is to them and to their community, and how their lives have changed since winning life-changing jackpot in 2019.
“Serenity Ranch represents how our lives have come full circle,” says Dawn Chippewa. “When we got married, I had horses and as our family grew, I had to give them up because it just became too much to maintain.”
“When Dawn got rid of the horses years ago, I promised her that I would get her horses again someday,” said Phillip Chippewa. “When I made that promise I had no idea how I would ever make it happen, but I knew how important it was to her.”
Then, on Sept. 21, 2019, Phillip stopped at the Barrels and Barrels Party Store in Suttons Bay to buy a Powerball ticket.
“Any time I would see the jackpot getting up there I would buy a few tickets and hope for the best,” said Phillip. “I stopped at Barrels and Barrels the day of the Powerball drawing and almost walked out without buying the tickets, but at the last minute, I decided to get four plays.”
The next evening, the Chippewas learned that their lives would change forever.
“After I bought the tickets, I had put them away in my truck,” said Phillip. “I ran out to take a look at them and I didn’t have to look past the first line to see I was the winner. My son pulled the numbers up on his phone and read them out loud while Dawn and I looked at the ticket together. By the time he was done, we both had tears in our eyes.”
“Since we won the jackpot, our lives have transformed in some amazing ways,” said Dawn. “As odd as it may seem, at first, it was very overwhelming to know that we’d never have to worry about money again. We put a team together to help manage our finances and as we talked about what we wanted to do with our new wealth we both were committed to giving back to the community and that’s when Serenity Ranch was born.”
The 25-acre Serenity Ranch helps individuals dealing with trauma heal while working with the horses that call the ranch home. The ranch has a simple mission: to empower those in need through the healing qualities of horses.
“Hearing Phillip and Dawn Chippewa share their story and seeing the pride they have in Serenity Ranch is truly inspiring,” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. “The work they are doing to give back to their community is incredibly important and highlights the good that can come from winning a Lottery prize. While it may not always make headlines, Lottery winners often choose to use a portion of their prize to help organizations that are important to them.”
“Being able to provide the community with a place they can come and heal has been life-changing for us,” said Dawn. “We run the operation entirely on donations and the work of our volunteers. When we won the Powerball jackpot, I knew that I wanted to stay active and involved in Suttons Bay, and Serenity has given me that opportunity. I put in more hours here than I ever did when I was working, but this is truly a labor of love for me.”
Story provided via the Michigan Lottery. For more Michigan Lottery content, click here
To learn more about Serenity Ranch, click here