Monday, March 3, 2008
It has been 25 years since Drew Barrymore first hit the silver screen in Stephen Spielberg's ET. Now at 33 the actress/producer/director has grossed more than 2 billion dollars from her films worldwide. Drew's life is going strong with her new boyfriend, actor Justin Long, 4 new films on the way and a contract with Cover Girl Cosmetics.
Drew Barrymore opened the show by gushing over her new love, boyfriend and actor Justin Long. Drew explained to Oprah that she has found a best friend and sees this relationship as different from the others she has been in. Drew said that when you grow up you decide who you want to be which applied to her life as well.
At 30 an article in the New York Times caught Drew's eye and made her interested in the World Food Program. Drew has been to Africa twice for mission work with the program and is working on her second documentary on her experience there. Drew worked with the program hands-on for 2 years before they made her an ambassador - the work more than the money being a priority for the program. Now that Drew is older, she is embracing the new opportunities that are coming her way.
While working for the World Food Program in Kenya, Drew was able to see first hand the number of children that go to school hungry. Drew was amazed to see the hope and love coming from children who have so little. Around the world, 59 million kids go to school each day hungry which is what the World Food Program is working to reduce. An important part of children eating in Africa is the fact that HIV medication will not be accepted by the body without food - and many children in Africa are inflicted by the disease. We are in the midst of an international food crisis, losing a child every 6 seconds to hunger.
Drew presented the director of the World Food Program that was in the audience of the show a giant check for 1 million dollars towards the program. Drew explained that 93% of money donated goes directly to caring for the children, and just 25 cents a day or $50 a year is all it takes to feed a child. Cameron Diaz, Drew's best friend called in to give support to all of the work that Drew has done for the program.
A clip of the first Big Give episode was shown where contestant Marlene was the first to be sent home. Judge Jamie Oliver was also present on the show and explained that it was very hard to deliberate and that the small things the contestants do can really make a difference in their decision. Marlene also appeared on the show and said that even though she was the first to go, it was still a great experience for her.
Judge Malaak Compton-Rock hosted a Big Give party in New York City Sunday night to watch the first episode with a number of celebrity friends. Guests were asked to bring shoes for the New York Street Settlement and special guest Tim Gunn donated 500 pairs of shoes.
Oprah is giving away money to people who want to give big to their own communities. The first viewer to be surprised by Nate is Shelley from Bedford, Indiana. Shelley emailed Oprah to share the story of a family who lost their home in a fire - Shelley went to high school with the mother of the family and wanted to raise money to help them. Nate surprised Shelley at her door and gave her $10,000 and 5 days to finish her plan. Nate told Shelley that he would be checking back to see how she was able to give big.
Big Give judge Jamie Oliver did a cooking segment with Oprah again, this time making his Jool's Favorite Saturday Afternoon Pasta, a simple recipe using canned tuna and tomatoes with a Sicilian flair. The recipe is in Jamie's latest book, Cook with Jamie and is available on Oprah.com
