Oprah Throws A Pizza Party for Kids and Donates $500,000 For Program

Media mogul, Oprah Winfrey surprised a group of students at West Side High School in Newark on Friday night with a pizza party and a $500,000 donation to the school’s Light’s On program.

The Lights On after-school program was created by principle Akbar Cook, whose goals is to create a safe and creative space for his students on Friday nights during the school year. Cook previously made headlines for installing washing machines at the school to ensure students had clean clothes.

Normally, Principal Cook and his family personally prepare dinner for the Light’s On program’s 300 students each week, PEOPLE reports. Recently, Winfrey along with Kraft Heinz hosted a pizza party with her line of “O, That’s Good” frozen pizzas.

The media mogul and Kraft Heinz donated $50 ShopRite gift cards to the hundreds of kids in attendance and then to take care of future needs she donated a check for $500,000 to support the program.

Principal Cook says the donation will go towards “restorative” programs, designed to curb gun violence in the area.

Cook launched the program four years ago after three students at the high school died from gun violence, but Cook told CBS that since then, “we haven’t lost any more kids.”


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