NEW YORK -- Oprah Winfrey is giving grants to the cities she's called home through her 12-million-dollar coronavirus relief fund.
She has announced that her Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation will donate money to organizations dedicated to helping underserved communities in Chicago; Baltimore; Nashville, Tennessee; Milwaukee; and Kosciusko, Mississippi, where she was born.
Winfrey tells The Associated Press that there is going to be a need for people of means to step up.
She says even when the coronavirus is gone, people will be in need because of the devastation caused by not being able to work for months and using up all of their savings.
Winfrey is asking those who have money to look in your own neighbourhood, in your own backyard to see how you can serve and where your service is most essential.
After speaking with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and other leaders, Winfrey decided to give five-million dollars to Live Healthy Chicago, which provides immediate support to seniors and high-risk residents affected by the coronavirus.
In Nashville, where Winfrey lived with her father and started her media career, she is giving two-million to NashvilleNurtures, a collaboration with Mount Zion Baptist Church and Tennessee State University, Winfrey's alma mater.
They plan to feed 10-thousand families in and around the city.
Winfrey is also handing out other amounts to various other groups.
Winfrey says she's been homebound since March 11th, four days after she wrapped her nine-city wellness tour.
