The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Spain Elementary-Middle School
There's a public school in Detroit that is falling apart, literally, and Ellen DeGeneres just threw a bunch of money and attention at the problem, the Detroit Free Press reports.
According to a clip from the show, the Spain Elementary-Middle School is chock-full of students from working-class families that are "poor or homeless," DeGeneres explained.
The technology at the school doesn't work or is nonexistent, "their entire roof is falling apart [and] their gym is completely shut down," forcing students to take their physical education class in the hallways.
At times, students wear coats in the classroom because the heat doesn't work. DeGeneres donated and pooled together tons of resources for the school, which she says is her show's "most generous giveaway."
Those giveaways include a $100 gift card from Lowe's for each teacher and staff member at the school, $50,000 in technology from Lowe's, $200,000 worth of materials and labor to go toward a new roof, and a $250,000 donation from Lowe's. Plus, the show started a GoFundMe page for the school with a $5 million goal (the GoFundMe team has already pledged $15,000 toward that goal).
DeGeneres surprised the school's students during a live telecast of her show, in which she video-conferenced into their assembly. Check out the surprise below.
For more of black Twitter, check out The Chatterati on The Root and follow The Chatterati on Twitter.
Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele is a staff writer at The Root and the founder and executive producer of Lectures to Beats, a Web series that features video interviews with scarily insightful people. Follow Lectures to Beats on Facebook and Twitter.
Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.
DISCUSSION