Response
In Fort Wayne, Indiana, $10,000 in seed money was received by ABC affiliate WPTA, which was then given to local trail organizations. A community celebration was held April 12, 2008, when it was revealed that the total donations had topped $1 million.
In Orlando, Florida, over $50,000 has been donated to a mentoring program for at-risk youth, in conjunction with a charitable program from ABC affiliate WFTV, that was inspired by Oprah's Big Give.
In Fresno, California, $10,000 was donated by the ABC affiliate KFSN on behalf of Oprah's Big Give, and turned over to CalFire for installing smoke detectors in rural county homes that do not have any, to save lives. This was in a response to the death of two young girls who died in a house fire in 2006.
The program has also been criticized. Hollywood Reporter described it as a phony and self-aggrandizing promotional vehicle for Oprah. Tom Shales of the Washington Post described the show as having an "unsavory aura of exploitation" and as being trite and predictable. Rick Kushman of the Daily Herald found the show boring, and worried that it could serve to make viewers feel "cynical about charity," which would in turn make them feel guilty. Variety's Brian Lowry called the show "a reality-TV Frankenstein, birthed from parts of other programs" and its judges "arbitrary," and generally found that the philanthropic theme of the show was inconsistent with the competitive reality genre. However, Lowry also recognized the show's "emotional appeal" and conceded that the show's heart is "in the right place."
Read more about this topic: Oprah's Big Give
Famous quotes containing the word response:
“The truth is that literature, particularly fiction, is not the pure medium we sometimes assume it to be. Response to it is affected by things other than its own intrinsic quality; by a curiosity or lack of it about the people it deals with, their outlook, their way of life.”
—Vance Palmer (1885–1959)
“Because humans are not alone in exhibiting such behavior—bees stockpile royal jelly, birds feather their nests, mice shred paper—it’s possible that a pregnant woman who scrubs her house from floor to ceiling [just before her baby is born] is responding to a biological imperative . . . . Of course there are those who believe that . . . the burst of energy that propels a pregnant woman to clean her house is a perfectly natural response to their mother’s impending visit.”
—Mary Arrigo (20th century)
“Perhaps nothing in all my business has helped me more than faith in my fellow man. From the very first I felt confident that I could trust the great, friendly public. So I told it quite simply what I thought, what I felt, what I was trying to do. And the response was quick, sure, and immediate.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)