The Heartwarming Choice One Wheel Of Fortune Contestant Made With His $145,000 Winnings

pat sajak holding up $100,000 prize card on wheel of fortune

Everybody who goes onto Wheel of Fortune wants to win tons of money, and possibly an array of prizes and vacation trips, though obviously not everyone is lucky enough and/or skilled enough to pull it off. Well, Pat Sajak and Vanna White almost witnessed Scott Kolbrenner become the winningest non-millionaire in Wheel of Fortune history thanks to his combined luck and skillset. But while he fell a couple thousand dollars short, he made up for it in charitable vibes by making the awesome and life-affirming choice to donate the entirety of his $145,000 winnings to charity.

Two charities, to be exact. After posting the video of Scott Kolbrenner solving the Bonus Round puzzle and celebrating his $100,000 prize (which Pat Sajak didn't spoil beforehand), the Wheel of Fortune YouTube page posted a comment cluing fans in on Kolbrenner's selfless donations after his mega-win.

Scott has pledged to donate all of his winnings to Uplift Family Services and L.A. Regional Food Bank! Way to give back! What a generous gesture! Such good fortune all the way around.

Some solid positivity for Scott Kolbrenner and his righteous decision to bring assistance to those in need. It would have been pretty awesome had his Bonus Round puzzle answer been "Charitable Donation" or something along those lines. I can't quite find a way to make "Flowing White Gown" match up with that, though.

A New York native, Scott Kolbrenner shared $72,500 with the Uplift Family Services behavioral health treatment center at Hollygrove. He has been working with the California health provider and volunteering his time for around 20 years, and he also serves as a member of the Board of Directors. Here's how Kolbrenner explained his decision to make the donations, according to TVLine:

While I hoped I would do OK on the show, I never thought that anything like this could happen. I got lucky that day and knew right away that I wanted to share my good fortune. So, I decided to contribute all of my winnings to Uplift Family Services and Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, whose services support thousands of families. The fun and memories from the day will stay with me forever, but the urgent need in our community cannot wait.

The world is a better place with these kinds of choices in it, and hopefully that money has already been able to do some good for anyone and everyone in California and beyond. Of course, the recent celebrity-filled Wheel of Fortune primetime edition was also set up so that all winnings went to charitable organizations, but it's obviously different away from the celeb circuit. The producers should let Kolbrenner back on the show a second time to now try and win money for himself. You can check out the Bonus Round video below!

We salute your Wheel of Fortune success and subsequent kindness, Scott Kolbrenner. Your next round of vowels is on me.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.