Associated Press | Oprah Winfrey’s charity, The Angel Network, is shutting down as her talk show draws to a close. The network stopped accepting donations this week and said on its website that it plans to dissolve as soon as its remaining funds are disbursed.
The Angel Network was launched in 1998 with donations from viewers of
Winfrey’s talk show; its demise stems from her decision to end her
Chicago-based show in 2011, after 25 years on the air, Angel Network
spokeswoman Angela DePaul said.
The Web site notice said Winfrey and the network’s directors are
“extremely grateful” to the nearly 150,000 donors who gave more than
$80 million to the charity.
Its best-known projects included funding rebuilding efforts for Gulf
Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina and building 55 rural
schools in 12 countries.
The network Web site will continue and donors who still wish to
contribute will be directed on that site to other charities, DePaul
said.
DePaul said donations hadn’t dwindled but that it made sense to end the
network as Winfrey sets her TV sights in a different direction.
Winfrey isn’t ending her philanthropic efforts. The Web site notice says
her new cable network will highlight charitable organizations in coming
years.
Winfrey announced her round-the-clock Oprah Winfrey Network earlier
this year. It is to start next January. She revealed last month that
she’ll host one of its programs, a nighttime travel and conversation
show called “Oprah’s Next Chapter.”
Amazing how Oprah took all the credit even when people assumed that the money given away was hers. But then again, the viewers are relatively rich and she’s only worth a few billion. Time for Oprah to go away and stop lecturing us like Obama does.
Fred B, it’s a shame you’re so cynical. Charities provide a needed service and Oprah does give away a lot of her own money to various causes, mainly dealing with education and the empowerment of young women. I applaude her efforts over the years for people to take responsibility for themselves with her understanding that people need a little help to do that. She was born poor and educated herself and is self-made. Isn’t that what we all should be doing or striving for? I’m so sorry you’re so beaten down and negative. Hopefully things will get better for you.
Ever notice that the most mean-spirited, bitter, negative people are also the ones most likely to bash President Obama, Democrats and liberals? Yeah, I’m talking about you, Fred B.
I would tend to agree with Fred B. Oprah isn’t the only one. Almost all corporations that I have worked for have asked for donations from the employees and then gave themselves the create for the donation. I was pushed over my Oprah limit this last year when she was shutting down streets and putting giant robots (or whatever they were) and claiming that was to “help” the image of Chicago.
Besides beyond being philanthropic in many other ways, Oprah covered all of the operating costs of Oprah’s Miracle Network. Her contributions allowed all of our donated dollars to go 100% to charity as opposed to administrative costs which can be very high. There is no questioning her generosity.
Karen and Patrick: typical democrat, liberal, Obama responses – no disputing of facts, just bashing anyone who doesn’t agree with your uneducated, incompetent view of the world. Maybe you should stop receiving your government handouts, get an education, get a job, pay taxes and figure out that some people can actually figure out for themselves what to do with their money without having Oprah or Obama tell them what to do with it. Go Fred!
Apparently the “cereal box” institution you received your education from hasn’t aided in helping you to shed the tired stereotypes you have of people that don’t share your social and political views.
Besides, I thought conservatives didn’t like paying taxes, so it shouldn’t matter to you if they paid taxes or not.
jerry – I probably earn more than you do and pay more taxes than you. I don’t get any handouts, and I probably pay for yours (since so many teabaggers collect social security and are on medicare… both government programs… run by the eeeevul gubmint). And we all know that blue states subsidize the red ones — blue states pay more in taxes than we get back from Washington DC, while red states get more than they pay in. So from that fact, and the fact that I earn a decent living and pay a fair amount in taxes, we can hypothesize that liberals may, in fact, pay more in taxes than do conservatives, and liberals may get less in handouts than conservatives do. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, jerry.
KA, you’re obvviously still working on your GED because the Obama administration hasn’t gotten around to giving diplomas out with welfare chaecks and food stamps.
Hate to burst your bubble, but conservatives pay the vast majority of the income taxes and do most of the charitable giving in this country. Liberals like you tend to be takers in our society, emulating the likes of your esteemed VP Joe Biden, who has never given more than a paltry $2,000 to charity in any year despite becoming wealthy on the public dime. No wonder you join those turning the US into a socialist society. Unfortunately, your party is almost over. Good riddance to you.
Come on, everybody. Can’t we just reach across the political divide and agree that this year’s American Idol was kind of cr*ppy?
Oprah, please move to MY city. The hotels and restaurants would LOVE all of the business that your new shows would generate and we could sure use the tax dollars. We’ll even show our appreciation by letting you close down the streets once every 20 years (without whining and complaining) to stage an extravaganza.