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Oprah's Big Give
Oprah's Big Give follows ten contestants as they find exciting and creative ways to impact the lives of those who really need it in cities across the country. Oprah will make several appearances throughout the show, as will plenty of A-list celebrities. After each challenge, the judges decide who to eliminate from the contestants based on four criteria: creativity, leadership, presentation and accomplishment.
About Oprah's Big Give
The Contestants
 | Oprah's Big Give - Meet the contestants |
 Angelo Adams The leader of more than 100 soldiers in Iraq. A former army captain and a West Point graduate. |  Sheg Aranmolate At age 18, Sheg Aranmolate came to the United States from Nigeria by himself, with nothing but a duffle bag. The 24-year-old has since earned a master's degree in applied molecular biology. |  Rachael Hollingsworth A survivor - Born in Brooklyn, she grew up a victim of gang violence as well as sexual and physical abuse. |  Cameron Johnson At 9 years old, Cameron Johnson started his first business. By 17, his net worth had reached $1 million. |  Eric Klein While Eric Klein may have modeled for Men's Health, he's not just another pretty face. He is also the founder of a nonprofit organization that enables people who make charitable donations to actually see how their money is being spent. |
 Brandi Milloy A four-time title holder in the Miss America Organization |  Stephen Paletta A devoted father of three, who refers to his wife as his best friend, the CEO of his own company |  Kim Prentiss |  Marlene Snipes |  Carlana Stone At 17, Carlana Stone got into a car with friends after a night of drinking. They were in an accident, and everyone walked away—except her. Today, Carlana is trying to dispel the myth that people struck by tragedy are victims forever. |
 Nate Berkus The host |  Jamie Oliver "Naked Chef" |  Tony Gonzalez NFL star |  Malaak Compton-Rock wife of Chris Rock |
Celebrity Appearances
 Danica Patrick |  Tony Hawk |  Andre Agassi |  President George Bush |  Carlos Rogers | |
|  Jada Pinkett-Smith |  John Travolta | |
Episode Recap
| Episode | Recap | Who was eliminated? |
| 1 | In the season premiere, the contestants get their first challenge—with nothing but a photograph, a clue and $2,500, they work in a team of two and have only five days to make dreams come true. | Marlene Snipes |
| 2 | The contestants head to Denver, where the competition gets fast and furious. Each giver had $4,800 and only 48 hours to change lives in a city filled with millions of stories. | Angelo Adams |
| 3 | It's their biggest mission yet—so Oprah's calling in some star-powered reinforcements! More than 1,000 children are depending on the givers to make miracles happen! The teams competed in Houston, Texas. Two teams were formed. a) Team Forgotten Christmas consisted of Eric, Cameron, Brandi, Stephen and World Champion skateboarder Tony Hawk. Their task was to create the ultimate Christmas celebration for the students of Velasco Elementary, many who come from disadvantaged homes where they likely have never celebrated Christmas. Tony Hawk showcased his skateboarding skills to help Team Forgotten Christmas raise money and collect toys for the big event at Velasco. b) Carlana, Sheg, Kim and Rachael were teamed up with tennis legend Andre Agassi for Project Field of Dreams. Their mission was to surprise Geraldine Sam, a teacher who's been leading the effort for a new school playground at Simms Elementary, with her very own field of dreams. The Project Field of Dreams team organized a fundraiser at the Westside Tennis Club. While the team was checking out the facility, they are treated to two surprises—first, a visit from former President George Bush and then former Houston Rocket Carlos Rogers stopped by to help out. | Carlana Stone |
| 4 | The contestants land in Miami, where they have 24 hours to create a supersized give. The host Nate Berkus introduced Joe and Gavin Maloof, the billionaire brothers who own the Sacramento Kings basketball team and the hip Las Vegas Palms Resort and Casino. They donated $700,000 for the Big Give. In the $100,000 Giveaway Mission, each contestant had only 24 hours to donate their share of the $700,000. However, there was a catch: they can't give away cash, they can't spend more than $500 on any one person, and they can't give more than $10,000 at any single location. To top it off, because the challenge was so big, two contestants were eliminated. As Big Give viewers witnessed, giving away money isn't so easy. The Maloof brothers handed out $100,000 to seven contestants, but after 24 hours of nonstop giving, there was still a lot of money left over. So Joe and Gavin Maloof decided to spread that extra cash around Miami. They first opened $5,000 bank accounts in the names of 20 babies in the hospital with medical complications. The children will have a nice savings account for their college education. However, $30,000 remained to be given away. The Maloof brothers decided to give it to the audience -- each audience member received $100. Oprah said that they could spend it on themselves, but they'd feel better if they shared it with someone else. | Kim Prentiss Eric Klein |
| 5 | Indy racing superstar Danica Patrick rev'd up the competition when she sent the contestants speeding off on a Big Give road trip. The challenge had two parts. First, the givers were given $5,000 and a map that led them to mystery locations throughout Georgia, where they performed random acts of kindness for complete strangers. | Sheg Aranmolate |
| 6 | "Operation Big Dreams" Cameron, Brandi, Rachael and Stephen are charged with granting two dramatic dying wishes in only five days. Plus, for the first time, the contestants must work together on the challenge—and while they will be evaluated individually, the judges will be paying close attention to teamwork. A dream included a performance at Carnegie Hall (with a controversial performance by Rachel) and an appearance and performance by Natalie Cole. A second dream included a special family day in NYC (including a family shopping spree and a ride in Donald Trump's helicopter), following by the news that the mortgage had been paid, a scholarship fund was set up for the children, and a new truck. Jada Pinkett Smith gave $100,000 on behalf of the Smith Family Foundation and through her additional connections all the funds for the $208,000 mortgage were raised. There were problems among team members behind the scenes though and Rachel was eliminated. | Rachel Hollingsworth |
| 7 | "Big Family Reunion" Each of the three remaining contestants, Stephen, Brandi, and Cameron, were given $10,000 to give big in their own hometowns. -- Cameron to Roanoke, Virginia; helped the family of a girl with bone cancer, obtaining donations of a widescreen laptop with wireless Internet, a website for her online diary, her room redecorated, a remodeled living room with cable television and a DVD player, $5000 to pay the rent for one year, and a new car. He entire seed money of $10,000 was given to the family. -- Stephen to Bedford, New York: coordinated a fund raising event where $43,000 was raised for the renovations needed at the Northern Westchester Shelter for women, a safe haven for victims of domestic violence -- Brandi to Sierra Vista, Arizona: spent $3,000 to send five autistic children to summer camp; obtained an honorary Miss Sierra Vista title (complete with her own parade) for a young girl with multiple brain tumors; and $1,000 to a family whose son had severe brain damage. The contestants flew back to Big Give headquarters in a private jet piloted by superstar John Travolta. | No one |
| 8 | "The Shirt Off Your Back" Only three contestants remain, Stephen, Brandi, and Cameron. They must work as a team in Chicago with no seed money for 48 hours. The team decided to raise money for the $100,000 needed for The Chicago Home Academy's new athletic field. Blue Man Productions offered to donate $100,000 to the academy and a free concert by Blue Man Group for the kids. At the end of the concert, it was announced that $60,000 had been raised for the fields. Blue Man Productions gave $50,000 for the fields and $50,000 for music and arts education programs. In addition, Fender Musical Instruments gave 15 new guitars and The Gibson Foundation gave a new Baldwin upright piano. In the meantime, Brandi, joined by Cameron, set up a free cooking class by chef Anthony Reyes for the kids at the Shriners Hospital for Children. With $10,000 donated they also provided instruments, sports equipment, books, and DVDs for the hospital. Jennifer Aniston dropped by the finale reporting that each of the seven eliminated contestants would get $30,000. The biggest giver, Stephen, was awarded $1 million--- $500,000 for more Big Gives and $500,000 to keep. The other two finalists received $100,000 each. | Brandi Milloy and Cameron Johnson Biggest Giver (winner): Stephen Paletta |
Viewer Participation
| Pull off your own "Big Give" | Viewers are encouraged to get involved in their neighborhoods and hometowns. They are encouraged to come up with a fun way to raise cash and then decide who deserves it most. Viewers are encouraged to write to the producers about how they touched someone's life or to make a video. |
undrcuvr411 |
Latest page update: made by undrcuvr411
, May 6 2008, 2:19 PM EDT
(about this update
About This Update
big give episode summaries added
- undrcuvr411
558 words added 3 words deleted view changes - complete history) |
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More Info: links to this page
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| Anonymous | The Big Give - done 'given out' | 0 | May 17 2008, 12:30 AM EDT by Anonymous | ||
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Thread started: May 17 2008, 12:30 AM EDT
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Big news this week....Oprah canceled her own show. The network wanted it to run again, but she did not want that.
What's with that??? Maybe she's afraid that she's going to lose that lawsuit when it gets to court? Or, maybe she thinks everyone has forgotten the earlier trouble in Africa --- and all is well with the press and American opinion. |
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| undrcuvr411 | An insult to the needy | 0 | Apr 10 2008, 12:34 AM EDT by undrcuvr411 | ||
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Thread started: Apr 10 2008, 12:34 AM EDT
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You likely know someone who is really needy --- someone struggling to hold onto their home, to pay their power bills...someone homeless..and the many, hardworking Americans without insurance and need medical care. Even if intentions were pure, I'm not sure the real needy are being served. I'd be more impressed by a match -- match all the funds given to the contestants, including $1M prize, and award to charities that will make a real difference in the lives of the needy. I'd also like to see ALL the profit from this show donated to charities that help the needy -- that help jobless learn new skills --- that fill our local foodbanks --- that pay the power bills for those without funds --- etc.
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| undrcuvr411 | Making a game-show out of charity? | 0 | Apr 10 2008, 12:22 AM EDT by undrcuvr411 | ||
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Thread started: Apr 10 2008, 12:22 AM EDT
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It make me very uneasy to see Oprah using charity for a game-show format, turning giving into a competition
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