We've known for a while now that Oprah Winfrey is one of the most generous humans on the planet. I mean, the "You get a car!" gif isn't one of the most recognizable for no reason, you know? It's what Ellen Degeneres' 12 Days of Giveaways wishes it could be.
But the woman has earned the right to flaunt her good will, working from quite literally the ground up for her $2.6 billion net worth. Heck, there was even a push for Winfrey to run for president once upon a time. No dice, though -- Oprah just wants to keep on being Oprah.
And this holiday season, she's taking it to social media. Over the last couple of weeks, Winfrey has been responding to tweets and promising users ultra-charitable gifts. The best part is that none of these tweets are even directed at Winfrey or necessarily asking for anything; she's just bopping around Twitter looking for good people in need of a little boost.
First, there was Jimir Davis, a graphic designer and filmmaker, who was actually asking Apple for a little help so he could keep on doing what he does best -- creating. The format of the tweet comes off as sort of a joke, assuming the massive tech company wouldn't see or respond to said tweet, and serendipitously uses a gif of Winfrey to send the message home.
Maybe her gif senses were tingling, but Winfrey saw it and (with the inclusion of a gif herself) sent a new computer right over. Imagine his shock.
Next there was Caitlin Gooch, who runs a North Carolina nonprofit that delivers books to children in need. Um, amazing? She tweeted simply asking for retweets to get the word out about her organization, but Winfrey found the name of the nonprofit, Saddle up and Read, figured out it was Gooch's birthday and sent a donation -- plus the retweet, of course.
Dr. Cleavon Gilman, an Arizona emergency room doctor who claims he was fired by his workplace, Yuma Regional Medical Center, for speaking on the conditions and severity of COVID-19 in the state, on social media, tweeted out an AZ Central article about the situation, sharing his story and writing, "Healthcare providers must be able to communicate with the public during a deadly pandemic."
Winfrey found this, too, and promised to be in touch with the frontline worker to send him and his family on vacation once it was safe to do so. Just another reason to always speak your truth, I guess!
Next came Kelly Kenney, whose heartwarming story about the friendship she forged with a cooped-up 4-year-old went viral early this week. Kenney, who one day came across a "fairy garden" created by a little girl, Eliana, in her Los Angeles neighborhood, decided to write letters posing as a fairy living in the garden. The ruse expanded from there, and she and Eliana's family have kept in touch throughout the pandemic.
Everyone loved this story, especially Winfrey, who'll be sending Kenney, Eliana, her parents and an extra friend to Disney post-COVID, because "y'all need to meet Tinkerbell." What dreams are made of!
Most recently, Malcolm Manning, a 23-year-old Newark-based photographer, tweeted out some of his work, simply looking for some retweets to help grow his client base. Which was successful, to say the least: Winfrey asked him to help shoot a few stories for the relaunch of Oprah Magazine's website. This resume is about to be stacked for life.
Everyone that Winfrey has reached out to has, of course, had a very visceral reaction to her benevolence:
We can't all be as giving as Oprah Winfrey, but here's to spreading a little Christmas cheer however we can this season!