RD Sweepstakes Winner Donates Prize to Charity

There are times when a single act of charity reminds us there is still so much good in the world.

Every year, Reader's Digest holds our annual sweepstakes draw. The 2010 Reader’s Digest sweepstakes Customer Appreciation and Thank You Bonus prize, worth 2,450,000 pesos was won by a 70 year old Filipino doctor who has donated the entire sum to three charitable activities.

The money will benefit the Shriners Crippled Children’s Program at Shriners Children’s Hospital, medical/surgical missions, and indigent trauma victims. Shriners Children’s Hospital provides free medical treatment to children age up to 18 with cleft lips/palate, spinal cord injuries, orthopaedic deformities, and burns. Care is provided regardless of economic level, nationality and race.

Felix Vicuna intends to use his winnings to individually help these indigent patients, depending on their need. He also wishes to stay away from the limelight. "I feel charity is best done anonymously," he says.