Oprah Winfrey recently talked about all of the people who are struggling because of the COVID-19 crisis, and she believes it’s crucial for those of means to assist, starting with those who are closest.
On Wednesday, May 20, the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation announced a $12 million COVID-19 relief fund to be given out to underserved areas in Nashville; Milwaukee; her birthplace of Kosciusko, Mississippi; Baltimore; and Chicago, all places that Winfrey has once called home.
In Chicago, where Winfrey became a megastar through “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” she’ll donate $5 million to Live Health Chicago, an organization that helps seniors and high-risk groups impacted by COVID-19.
She’s also donating $2 million to NashvilleNurtures, a foundation that teamed with Winfrey’s alma mater Tennessee State University and Mount Zion Baptist Church to help with their mission of feeding 10,000 families.
Winfrey once lived in Tennessee with her father Vernon Winfrey and was the first Black woman news anchor on Nashville’s WTVF-TV.