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Oprah donates $10 million towards coronavirus relief efforts

Photo credit: Vera Anderson - Getty Images
Photo credit: Vera Anderson - Getty Images

From Harper's BAZAAR

Oprah has announced that she will be donating millions to help relief efforts around COVID-19, or coronavirus. "I am pledging $10 million overall to help Americans during this pandemic in cities across the country and in areas where I grew up," Oprah revealed on Instagram.

Of the $10 million (which is approximately £800,000), $1 million will go to America's Food Fund, a GoFundMe page started by Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Apple that will benefit two hunger and food relief organisations: celebrity chef José Andrés's Feeding America and World Central Kitchen, led by CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot.

"I feel like this is the central place to go if you really want to do something," Oprah said during an interview with Chef Andres and Babineaux-Fontenot during her latest episode of Oprah Talks on Apple. "Everybody who's sitting at home and thinking 'I don't know what to do and I don't know where to give my money to,' I know I can trust my money in your hands, Feeding America and World Central Kitchen, thank you so much."

Currently, World Food Kitchen is preparing over 100,000 meals a day for those in need, as it works to deliver fresh meals, put restaurants back to work, feed frontline health care workers, and map their efforts. And Feeding America is working with food banks across the country as well as partnering with local school districts to ensure vulnerable adults and children continue to have access to food assistance amidst the pandemic.

"Whenever there's a crisis or natural disaster, like so many of you, my thoughts are with those who are the most vulnerable among us—those who need just the basics of shelter and food," Oprah said in the episode of her decision to donate. "I still remember growing up with my mother in Milwaukee when we were all on welfare, and sometimes we needed assistance for our family just to survive. During times like this, so many more people are vulnerable."

She added: "I've been looking to food banks in communities where I grew up, in towns where I experienced opportunities like, obviously Chicago, Nashville, Milwaukee where I grew up and Mississippi, where I grew up. Because I've been looking for ways to get food to people."

In addition to America's Food Fund, Oprah announced via press release that part of her overall $10 million donation will go to Minnie’s Food Pantry in Plano, Texas and Boys and Girls Club in Kosciusko, Mississippi, with other recipients to be announced later.

Prior to announcing her donation Thursday morning, Oprah had interviewed Italians about living in the epicentre of coronavirus outbreak, shared a skype session with Idris Elba and his wife Sabrina—who both tested positive for COVID-19—and interviewed Kerry Washington for a virtual Super Soul Sunday. She's also given insight into how she herself is coping, including her "life's theme song" Amazing Grace and the strict 14-day quarantine measures she took with Stedman.

The 10 million donation to coronavirus relief efforts follows other recent charitable giving from Oprah, including a $5 million donation to after-school program Pathways to College earlier this year, a $13 million donation to Morehouse College in October 2019, and a $2 million donation to Puerto Rico hurricane disaster relief in April 2019.

Oprah joins a long list of celebrities who have committed millions to coronavirus aid. Some include Ralph Lauren, who announced a $10 million donation from his company as well as producing 250,000 masks and 25,000 hospital gowns for health care workers. Rihanna's foundation donated $5 million to COVID-19 response efforts and actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger donated $1 million to coronavirus relief, while Angelina Jolie has donated $1 million to the No Kid Hungry organisation, and Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds are giving $1 million to be split between Feeding America and Food Banks Canada.

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