RALEIGH – Jackie Jeffreys Oliver planned to go to the bank Thursday to arrange for a loan to expand her daycare into a family and community center. Her plans changed after her 26 year-old son scratched off a $10 lottery ticket she hadn’t got around to playing: It was worth $1 million.

Instead, Oliver came to lottery headquarters in Raleigh to collect her winnings and share her story. The Raleigh native opened a daycare center in 2011 but, after an emotionally and financially stressful divorce, keeping it running was a challenge. Oliver, however, was determined not only to sustain the service but to amplify its impact.

“I want to help families in Knightdale and Southeast Raleigh,” she said. “I am going to open a community center where we tutor parents. I figure if we help the parents, then they will be able to better-help their kids.”

Oliver said the center will also provide families with access to a social worker to support their specific needs.

“I definitely want to set some aside to help people who are going through a divorce and don’t have the resources to get through it,” she added.

A $1 million prize in the game can be claimed in 20 annuity payments of $50,000 or a one-time payment of $600,000. Oliver chose the lump sum, worth $415,503 after required withholdings.

Oliver purchased her winning ticket at the Highway 64 BP on New Bern Avenue in Raleigh. Her claim marks the fifth and final top prize won in the 50X The Cash game.

Ticket sales made it possible for the lottery to raise more than half a billion dollars for the state last year. For details on how $275.1 million in lottery funds have made a difference in Wake County, click on the “Where the Money Goes” tab on the lottery’s website.