Oprah said that what inspired her was the West Side’s “Lights On”. This program in West Side High, Newark, provides the school with recreational activities after hours every Friday. The media mogul surprised the whole school one Friday afternoon with pizzas for all. At least that’s what they thought.
Oprah Winfrey handed out pizzas but also donated $500,000 to the high school after she heard of its after-school program. “I thought what could I do?” Oprah said to the students. “So I’m going to leave here tonight and leave you with half a million dollars.”
Oprah's Favorite Things
It's no secret that the daytime star loves to spoil her loved ones, and Oprah certainly loves her audience. To add some holiday magic during the festive season, Oprah annually picked her favorite things that she bought that year and featured them on the show's segment, aptly named "Oprah's Favorite Things".
These things ranged from lobster truffle and mac and cheese to laptops and iPads and even some diamond-encrusted watches worth thousands of dollars. Year after year, Oprah would treat all her audience members to these wonderful goodies, treating them like royalty for a day.
Making Dreams Come True
One of the country's biggest providers of after-school mentoring, The US Dream Academy is a leader in education for at-risk youth. Oprah could not resist making her contribution to this organization.
In 2009, the superstar donated $900,000 to the charity, singlehandedly transforming it into an even better, more sophisticated, and technologically advanced after-school educational center. Gotta love her.
The Book Club
Oprah's Book Club is filled with amazing reads by authors who have told many inspirational stories. This is why this club serves as a great backdrop for another Oprah initiative. The Angel Network took a select amount of books and distributed them to various communities full of underprivileged kids.
Book club awards were distributed in many communities including, Beijing, China, and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Oprah to the Rescue
In order to inspire and motivate more life-changers out there, Oprah created the "Rescuing the World's Girls" and "Live Your Best Life Tour" events.
These events, originally inspired by O, The Oprah Magazine, provide grants to organizations that seek to provide life-changing assistance for disadvantaged women and girls.