The Oprah Foundation Announces Recipients Of $12 Million Grants For COVID-19 Relief

Since the spread of the COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, pandemic, many celebrities and large corporations have orchestrated different initiatives and efforts to help those severely impacted by the public health crisis. This week, the Oprah Winfrey Foundation unveiled the cities and organizations that will be receiving grants from the media mogul’s COVID-19 relief fund.

The charity foundation revealed the newest grant recipients of the billionaire’s $12 million COVID-19 Relief Fund to support organizations in Oprah’s “home cities” which consist of Nashville, Chicago, Baltimore, and several others. The money will go toward helping underserved communities that are struggling to recover from the economic loss caused by the pandemic.

Prior to this, the media mogul announced she would be donating $10 million toward relief efforts and increased that number to $12 million. “I’m proud to be able to support the communities I have called home,” said Winfrey in a press statement. “These organizations are working tirelessly on the ground to help those hit the hardest by the pandemic, meeting people where they are and serving in ways needed most.”  

Some of the recipients of the grant include Live Healthy Chicago, an initiative to provide thousands of families in predominately African American and Latinx communities with immediate support in the form of wellness visits, contact tracing, and care packages, NashvilleNurtures, a collaboration between Mount Zion Baptist Church and Tennessee State University, Winfrey’s alma mater, providing immediate food relief to over 10,000 families in the greater Nashville area, in addition to local universities and nonprofits.

“We express our sincerest thanks to Ms. Winfrey for her generosity and caring for her home city of Nashville in this manner, and for including TSU to be a part of this monumental humanitarian effort,” said Dr. Glenda Baskin Glover, president of Tennessee State University. “We are honored to be able to help support Nashville and to ensure that families have the food and basic necessities they need during this difficult time.