This Sunday a new show premiered on ABC TV entitled “Oprah’s Big Give“.   Ten people have been given the chance to participate in a show that aspires to change people’s lives.   These participants have to find creative ways to help people in need.   In the end there will be one person who will be labeled the Biggest Giver and will receive a $1 Million prize

I plan to review and critique each episode.   These reviews will contain spoilers, so don’t read them until after you’ve watched the show.   The show has celebrity judges, but I want you to help me be the judge.   Please comment on your thoughts and ideas.   Do you feel the player did the right thing?   Did they give their recipient a fish?   or did they teach them to fish on their own? What about you? Do you have an idea that could have helped the recipient?   What were some of the creative money options that you noticed?

Show spoilers to follow….

The first task had Oprah split the ten players into 5 teams.   Each team received a picture of a person and a clue about their scenario.   They were then tasked with changing this person’s life.   Unfortunately, the teams had to deal with the card they were dealt.   I feel that some of these need scenarios were more dire than others.

Team 1 – Eric & Stephen – The Egan Family

Tom Egan was fatally shot during a robbery at the Home Depot where he worked as a night manager.   He left behind a wife and twin daughters.   Eric and Stephen did a fantastic job at connecting the Egan family with the neighborhood.   They were able to obtain tuition from the girl’s school for the duration of their education.   They also seeded the girl’s college investment with a gift of $10k and raised a hefty payment for mom’s mortgage.   I was a bit surprised that Home Depot wasn’t there for the Egan family; this appeared to be a missed opportunity for the team.   Unfortunately, like many people, the Egan family feels very connected to their current house.   Los Angeles has one of the highest costs of living in the nation and a move could go a long way.   They could always move to Indianapolis.   However, given the tuition benefits that Eric and Stephen were able to obtain, I don’t recommend that this family move any time soon.

Team 2 – Angelo & Rachael – Shante McVey
Shante, and her children, escaped domestic violence only to end up homeless.   Fortunately she happened to be at “A Place Called Home” at the right time.   According to the organization’s website, it was rather random occurrence that Shante was chosen to be on the Big Give.   I, personally, was a little confused as to why Shante had been homeless for over a year.   She seemed like should have been able to get a job fairly easy.   She was clean, well dressed and could speak English, which to me, are the biggest obstacles to working in the US.   Again, perhaps the cost of living in LA is to blame.   However, I feel that the Angelo and Rachael team did a great thing for her.   I think the best thing they did was to hire a money coach.   This is truly representative of the “teach a man to fish” philosophy.   They also found her some “seed” money and got her a car.   Shante mentions that this will give her the job training she needs, so hopefully she is on her way to a much brighter future!
 

Team 3 – Brandi & Cameron – Karen Newman
Karen’s son was born with Down Syndrome, she has since adopted two other boys with Down Syndrome.   Karen has also spent the past 15 years organizing High Hopes, a social recreation program for developmentally disabled people.   Karen’s dream is to create a satellite program of Hope University so that she can help even more people with disabilities.   The Brandi and Cameron team did a good job of raising money and they were also successful at obtaining a long-term lease for a space that could hold up to 1000 people.   Karen’s dream is now closer to reality.
 

Team 4 – Carlana & Sheg – Eric Jackson
Eric Jackson needs to pay off his medical school college loan so that he can focus his life on plastic surgery for needy children.   Eric’s choice of college and his profession were calculated decisions; you don’t just become a med student.   He had to have known that med school would be pricy.   I also think he is very capable to resolve his own situation.   He will soon be making plenty of money to pay off his $200k loan.   Because it was hard to show pity for a plastic surgeon I think Carlana and Sheg had the hardest job on their task.   This was also evident in their attempt.   To raise funds they conducted a fashion show, at the end of the show, when they asked the audience to help, nobody gave.   Fortunately they were able to have an actor-friend donate some money towards Eric’s pricy loan.   All in all, it was hard for me to see that Eric needed this more than tons of other people who leave college with expensive school loans.

Team 5 – Kim & Marlene – Karl Newman
Kim and Marlene were the most unorganized team.   They wasted an entire day just trying to find Karl’s address.   When we finally meet up with Karl, we learn that he is a Marine Staff Sergeant that recently returned from Iraq.   While on duty he received three purple hearts.   He is about to be discharged and will have to find a home for his family.   I don’t feel that this team did much research to see how Karl’s Marine background could have helped the situation.   There are many veteran programs available but it seemed none of these were available.   Kim was able to use one of her contacts to get Karl a $25k start at a new life, they also found him an apartment and paid his first month’s rent…however, what’s his future look like?   No fishing lesson here.

In the end Marlene was the only one not to continue in the game, a decision that I felt was appropriate.

I feel that the most deserving person was Karen Newman, she was the only person that was asking for help in order to make other people’s lives better.   Everyone else was looking to make their own lives better.  

The money coach idea, from the Angelo & Rachael team, is this week’s best “Fishing Lesson”…an award I hope to give each week for the best idea that teaches someone to fish for themselves.