In addition to the rebuilt homes, Oprah forked out even more money for Hurricane Katrina’s reparations. Thousands of people needed so much help, with many needing nothing else but a hot meal. The daytime star donated $1 million from the Angel Network to an initiative that handed out hot meals to the hurricane victims.
The $1 million went to America’s Second Harvest (now known as Feeding America) which is, according to the New York Times, a food bank that feeds hungry people all over America.
Saving Lives in Africa
In September 2015, Oprah Winfrey announced that she would make a contribution of $100,000 to the GEANCO Foundation. The foundation was established in 2005 by a Nigerian family who "saves and transforms the lives of the poor and vulnerable in Africa with special medical missions.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Oprah made her donation in honor of the actor, David Oyelowo. Oyelowo is involved with a charitable organization, which provides health programs and education to women and girls in Nigeria.
Save the Children
On one of the final episodes of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” the daytime queen invited one of her favorite guests, Tererai Trent, back to the talk show. Trent, a Zimbabwe native, appeared on the Oprah show for the first time in 2009. There she shared his story about the people in her village who helped her relocate to America in order to further her education.
Trent also told her of her plans to go back to her hometown and improve the school there. Oprah essentially got her back on the show to tell her that she planned to donate $1.5 million to rebuild the Matau Primary School in Zimbabwe. She was speechless.
Pajama Program
Genevieve Piturro, the founder of the Pajama Program, a philanthropic organization that provides pajamas and books to disadvantaged children, was once a guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2007. She appeared on the show to share her story about how she created the organization.
Little did she know that prior to the taping, Winfrey and her producers challenged all of her audience members to see how many pairs of pajamas they could give. Thanks to that, 32,046 pairs of pajamas were collected that day. Piturro was utterly speechless by the gesture.
The 'O Ambassadors'
In 2008 Oprah headed another initiative that succeeded in building a school in Kenya. The idea was to give students a mission to change the world in a small way. Oprah and her Angel Network teamed up with the Free the Children organization and launched the initiative.
Thanks to the program, students were able to build a school in Kenya and raise money for school supplies. No doubt, they made an actual difference in their communities.