A $1.5 Million Dollar Anniversary Gift for the Community

Lois and Richard Nicotra of Staten Island, New York, recently celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary in the coolest way possible — by gathering hundreds of their neighbors and handing out a staggering $1.5 million in community grants and college scholarships.

Lois and Richard started their very first business together 50 years ago when they were broke and in their 20s. Since banks wouldn’t lend them money, local friends and family stepped up to fund their dream.

Now that they’ve made it big in the business world, they are spending their golden years paying it forward.

At the ceremony, Lois talked about her husband’s generous heart — while Richard challenged the roomful of local charities, special-needs students, and kids to take the money and create a “butterfly effect” of good deeds.