Last month Pamela Benjamin won a $1,000 philanthropy raffle. Earlier this week, she announced she would be giving away the winnings, without retaining a penny for herself.

Ms. Benjamn entered the raffle drawing on Oct. 18 while attending the 2011 Creative Living Award, hosted by the Permanent Endowment Fund of Martha’s Vineyard. As the winner of the raffle, Ms. Benjamin was tasked with dividing $1,000 between Island non-profits of her choosing. Though the raffle money is not intended for personal use, Ms. Benjamin heads the non-profit Sense of Wonder Creations, and therefore could have gifted her own organization. Instead, she allocated the money equally to Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Island Food Pantry.

The philanthropy drawing was made possible by the members of the Permanent Endowment board, who donated $1,000 to demonstrate their commitment to fostering philanthropy on the Vineyard. Established in 1982, the Permanent Endowment fund is the Island’s community foundation. More information is available at endowmv.org or by calling 508-338-4665.