OPRAH'S BIG GIVE - You will believe a man can cry

Looks like Sunday nights are going to be Make Dave Cry Night now that Oprah’s Big Give is on the air right after Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Each week Ty Pennington and Oprah will be competing (in my head) to see who can make me cry more and cry harder. This week the advantage goes to Oprah & Co. 

So here’s the breakdown of Oprah's Big Give, in case you missed the 1.5 million commercials. Ten contestants from all walks of life compete in weekly contests to see who can generate the most $$$ for folks who really need it. Their performance is judged on creativity, leadership, presentation, and accomplishments by the three judges, and each week somebody gets sent home, weeping. Yes, weeping. Philanthropy is a brutal business, folks. 

In this first week the ten contestants were broken into two-person teams, given a photograph of the person they needed to help, and then sent on their merry way. I was a little fuzzy on how much info they were provided about their aid recipients and half expected to see the contestants searching for them at street corners and bus stops armed only with a name and a Polaroid. “Have you seen this woman? I want to give her some money.”  

Luckily for them they seemed to have been provided with an address, although that didn’t help Marlene & Kim, who apparently couldn’t find Camp Pendleton despite the existence of these wonderful inventions called maps. They blew an entire day searching in vain for this giant, clearly marked military base and were definitely going into Week One at a disadvantage. 

The team efforts were a mixed bag – some of the teams were clearly inspired and motivated and creative, while others… not so much. 

Eric and Stephen really stood out in their efforts to help AJ Egan and her girls, who lost their husband and dad when he was killed in an armed robbery. The contestants had to figure out a way to help the Egans keep their house. Not only did Eric and Stephen get extra points for bonding with the Egans, they scored big for focusing not just on the family’s financial needs, but also their emotional needs. They took the girls on a toy shopping spree at Target and rallied the neighbors to donate at a big, full-on block party, the kind that has bouncy play castles and everything. Eric and Stephen really showed the Egans how valued they were and bought mom AJ some peace of mind, but the sweetest part was when they asked the family to write notes to their lost dad and attach them to jumbo helium balloons that would float up to heaven and deliver their messages. 

Darn it, I’m getting all misty-eyed just writing about it. Another point for you, Oprah.  

Some of the other teams could have benefited from using Eric and Stephen’s playbook. Marlene and Kim pulled through and helped a wounded and honorably discharged Marine and his family find a place to live, but what points they got in the achievement category were negated by a total lack of presentation. Surely they knew what the four criteria for success were going into the challenge, but they didn’t even have so much as a balloon to accompany their generous gift. 

And what were Carlana and Sheg thinking? They didn’t gel as a team, which might have explained why they came up with a benefit fashion show plan to help out an altruistic med student with huge loans. They pulled together the show, but the fundraising aspect of the fashion show was a disaster. Nobody in the audience gave a dime, apparently. They were bailed out at the last minute by a huge donation from Jamie Foxx, but if they didn’t have that last minute save, their project would have been a relative failure. 

Celebrity judge Jaime “Naked Chef” Oliver rightly took Carlana and Sheg to task for the lame fashion show. How was it related at all to the med student? If he moonlighted as a male model, I could see it, but no.  

I’m looking forward to the upcoming weeks, which promise more creative philanthropy and community fund-raising as well as some good old fashioned interpersonal conflict. It is a reality TV show, after all – it wouldn’t be any fun if everybody got along, even if it is for a good cause. 

This week, Oprah’s Big Give made me cry three times, and one of those occasions (the balloon message to heaven part) I think I might have actually sobbed. Next week I am going to be a ROCK and will not cry at all – mark my words. Oprah may be a paragon of charity and champion of selflessness, but I'm not just going to let her make me cry like this every week.
 

--Dave Campbell

Comments

[Cheryl B]

I set the DVR to tape this and it cut out on me before I found out who got sent home. HELP!! Who got sent home

[David D. Campbell]

Marlene the train attendant gal was sent packing. She was teamed up with Kim to help the Marine family. The judges felt that most of their achievements during the week was due to Kim, so they sent Marlene home.

[Sheila]

My DVR stopped recording before I got to see who got sent home on 3/9/08. Who got sent home?

[positive change through example]

The judges should have sent diva Rachel home. She took charge and bulldozed through.
Why was Carlana left behind when the group arrived at the school? Why was she sitting alone on the sidewalk using her cellphone to find her "team". Rachel distanced herself from any group by standing apart at the beginning. She clearly is not interested in team work. Carlana make it clear that to her it was all about the kids. Her facial expressions indicated that she was shutdown by Rachel when she tried to have discussion. They can send Rachel home next week because she's not going to last the entire competition. What kind of diva - ignore others - I'm the important one - example did she set for young people? I'm for positive change through example and didn't see it in Rachel. What kind of person are the judges looking for?

[Tonya]

I watch your show every Sunday.I really enjoy it. I would like to know if you could help out with a childrens sheltor & day care center in Richmond,VA.This sheltor is for battered & abused kids,the Rosey Grier youth sheltor,and the Summerhill Day Care Center.If you can, we really could use the help.Thanks!