Jessie Ellzy of Greenville said she’s always dreamed of giving someone a helping hand, and now she can after she won a $250,000 lottery prize.

“I told myself if I ever came into money, I’d pay it forward,” Ellzy said. “There are so many people who are worse off than I am. I’m going to make sure the homeless where I live have what they need for winter. It’s been a dream of mine to do this, and now I can.”

Ellzy’s good luck started Saturday when she stopped at Nic’s Pic Kwik on U.S. 401 South in Laurinburg and bought a $250,000 WIN IT ALL ticket. When she scratched the ticket, she couldn’t believe what she saw.

“I stared at it and thought, ‘That’s a lot of zeros,’” Ellzy said. “I started jumping up and down and hugging my daughter.”

Ellzy claimed her prize Monday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, she took home $176,876. In addition to helping the homeless, Ellzy plans to use the money to pay bills.

The $5 ticket launched with four top prizes of $250,000. Two top prizes remain.

Ticket sales from games like $250,000 WIN IT ALL make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.