Norwich natives take on Oprah's charity challenge
NORWICH – Oprah Winfrey is known for giving her talk show audience members extravagant gifts, but as three Norwich natives found out, sometimes it is better to give than to receive.
Jenn Cooper, Jennifer Johnson-Lynch and Lori Youngs attended the taping of Winfrey’s recent challenge show, during which audience members were given $1,000 debit cards and a DVD camcorder. She challenged them to spread acts of kindness, recording the way in which they chose to do so. Each of the three Norwich-born women chose a different way to share the wealth.
Youngs, who still lives in Norwich, knew she wanted to help the family of a local pastor. She had no one in mind, until she ran into a former high school classmate Pastor Matt Frayer. Matt and his wife Rena had seen a lot of sadness over the course of the year, losing a baby only hours after her birth.
Youngs fulfilled the challenge and then some, using all of the money from the Oprah show as well as a little of her own. She bought clothes for the Frayer’s three daughters, Alexandria, Abigail and Ashlee, as well as backpacks, coats, and a play kitchen set. She got the parents a $200 Wal-Mart gift card, a digital camera, and dinner at Gus’ Steak House. To this she added memorable items, including an ornament with the name of the deceased baby engraved on it; Alea Grace, which Rena said stands for Always Leave Everyone Aware of God’s Grace. “The words aren’t there to express our thankfulness,” Rena said. “The kids have had so much negativity in their lives this year, especially with the death of the baby. They really needed the extra boost. It was a Godsend.”
In addition to using the funds she had at her disposal, Youngs approached stores in Binghamton, including Sears, JC Penney, Burlington Coat Factory and Things Remembered and told them about the challenge. She was able to receive discounts on most of the merchandise. “The real gift is inside,” Youngs said. “I think I got the better end of the deal.”
Cooper, who now lives in North Carolina, originally thought about offering to pay for groceries and gas for random strangers, but after careful consideration she chose to work with a foundation called Matthew’s Help Center. The group helps many down-on-their-luck families, and the director had one particular family in mind for the project.
Cooper’s chosen family was made up of a former Charlotte City Police Officer and his wife. The couple, who had adopted two abandoned children, had run into hard times when the father lost his arm in a woodworking accident. The pain was so intense, that he cracked many of his teeth, and had to have them removed. The family was inundated with medical bills, and then had to deal with a broken furnace, and hot water heater, and a leaky roof. Unable to cover their expenses, the family was forced to file for bankruptcy.
Cooper chose to help this family. She gave them a $300 gift card to buy groceries, $150 for each clothing for each child, and the remaining money went toward paying some of the family’s bills.
Johnson-Lynch took a different approach. “I decided to use the money to go toward a local animal abuse prevention group,” she said. Johnson-Lynch chose the Forgotten Paws shelter, located close to her home in Acworth, Ga. She chose to help Forgotten Paws because it was independently run by one woman, Morgan Chadwick, who paid for all of her supplies out of her own pocket. Over the past eight years, Chadwick has rescued 800 dogs, and Johnson-Lynch wanted to be a part of that. She bought blankets for each of the 15 dogs at the shelter, with their names embroidered on them, she paid for heart guard medicine for the dogs that needed it, paid a $600 vet bill, and gave the rest of the money to Chadwick in the form of a gift card for supplies.
All three women expressed the joy they have experienced by helping others. “The biggest thing people should know, is everyone has time to do some type of good,” Cooper said. The videos each audience member made were sent back to Winfrey. The audience will be returning to Chicago on Nov. 22 for another show taping, in which some of the videos will be aired.
Jenn Cooper, Jennifer Johnson-Lynch and Lori Youngs attended the taping of Winfrey’s recent challenge show, during which audience members were given $1,000 debit cards and a DVD camcorder. She challenged them to spread acts of kindness, recording the way in which they chose to do so. Each of the three Norwich-born women chose a different way to share the wealth.
Youngs, who still lives in Norwich, knew she wanted to help the family of a local pastor. She had no one in mind, until she ran into a former high school classmate Pastor Matt Frayer. Matt and his wife Rena had seen a lot of sadness over the course of the year, losing a baby only hours after her birth.
Youngs fulfilled the challenge and then some, using all of the money from the Oprah show as well as a little of her own. She bought clothes for the Frayer’s three daughters, Alexandria, Abigail and Ashlee, as well as backpacks, coats, and a play kitchen set. She got the parents a $200 Wal-Mart gift card, a digital camera, and dinner at Gus’ Steak House. To this she added memorable items, including an ornament with the name of the deceased baby engraved on it; Alea Grace, which Rena said stands for Always Leave Everyone Aware of God’s Grace. “The words aren’t there to express our thankfulness,” Rena said. “The kids have had so much negativity in their lives this year, especially with the death of the baby. They really needed the extra boost. It was a Godsend.”
In addition to using the funds she had at her disposal, Youngs approached stores in Binghamton, including Sears, JC Penney, Burlington Coat Factory and Things Remembered and told them about the challenge. She was able to receive discounts on most of the merchandise. “The real gift is inside,” Youngs said. “I think I got the better end of the deal.”
Cooper, who now lives in North Carolina, originally thought about offering to pay for groceries and gas for random strangers, but after careful consideration she chose to work with a foundation called Matthew’s Help Center. The group helps many down-on-their-luck families, and the director had one particular family in mind for the project.
Cooper’s chosen family was made up of a former Charlotte City Police Officer and his wife. The couple, who had adopted two abandoned children, had run into hard times when the father lost his arm in a woodworking accident. The pain was so intense, that he cracked many of his teeth, and had to have them removed. The family was inundated with medical bills, and then had to deal with a broken furnace, and hot water heater, and a leaky roof. Unable to cover their expenses, the family was forced to file for bankruptcy.
Cooper chose to help this family. She gave them a $300 gift card to buy groceries, $150 for each clothing for each child, and the remaining money went toward paying some of the family’s bills.
Johnson-Lynch took a different approach. “I decided to use the money to go toward a local animal abuse prevention group,” she said. Johnson-Lynch chose the Forgotten Paws shelter, located close to her home in Acworth, Ga. She chose to help Forgotten Paws because it was independently run by one woman, Morgan Chadwick, who paid for all of her supplies out of her own pocket. Over the past eight years, Chadwick has rescued 800 dogs, and Johnson-Lynch wanted to be a part of that. She bought blankets for each of the 15 dogs at the shelter, with their names embroidered on them, she paid for heart guard medicine for the dogs that needed it, paid a $600 vet bill, and gave the rest of the money to Chadwick in the form of a gift card for supplies.
All three women expressed the joy they have experienced by helping others. “The biggest thing people should know, is everyone has time to do some type of good,” Cooper said. The videos each audience member made were sent back to Winfrey. The audience will be returning to Chicago on Nov. 22 for another show taping, in which some of the videos will be aired.
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