“Light the World” has been a tradition of service and compassion that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints initiated in 2016, and it is again in full force this holiday season.
In this same spirit, comedian and television host Ellen DeGeneres has been lighting the world in her own way for years by partnering with different companies to grant scholarships, gifts and donations to people in need.
This, of course, is her way of giving back to people that serve tremendously in their own communities.
Here are five moments to remember this holiday season.
$1 million for the Daniels family
“We have the biggest surprise we’ve ever done for one family,” DeGeneres prefaced in an episode dedicated to the Daniels family, who had previously made it onto the show because of their efforts to serve their community despite their own financial struggles.
This time, DeGeneres and Cheerios planned a $1 million donation to the family — $500,000 to keep, $500,000 to pay forward.
“Since the show, you have sparked something else in us,” Christi Daniels said in an interview prior to being awarded the $1 million. Christi and Robert Daniels expressed their previous efforts of serving being heightened since being associated with DeGeneres.
DeGeneres then showed a video of friends and family of the Daniels’ expressing their admiration of their compassionate lives. Now, this family of six, who live in a two-bedroom apartment, have more to help their lives and acts of service thrive.
“You are a true humanitarian,” Robert Daniels said. “You’re always giving. If nothing else, I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart that we really, really love you. We always have.”
A home for a California firefighter
Thousands of firefighters reported for duty while devastating wildfires ripped through California in 2018. One of them was Eric Johnson.
At first, Johnson and his girlfriend, Hope, thought their city home in Redding, California, would be fine. But while Johnson was responding to the Ferguson Fire in Yosemite, his home fell victim to the blaze.
“I help people for a living,” Johnson said, “and not being able to help the ones that are closest to me is a bad feeling.”
Hope escaped the fire, but their home did not.
“There was no way my house could’ve made it through that,” Hope said. “I had seen the flames coming straight towards it. It was heartbreaking because the home that we created together is gone, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Johnson said losing all of his possessions helped him to reprioritize what was most important to him.
“Those are the people in your life, not the things,” Johnson said.
While Johnson and Hope lived between their parents’ homes, DeGeneres brought them to the show to talk about their efforts to raise $20,000 on GoFundMe as they struggled to rebuild.
DeGeneres and Shutterfly then turned their $12,203 on GoFundMe to $50,000 to help their rebuilding efforts.
Hope for Spain Elementary School
They were poor. They were homeless. Their roof was falling apart. Their technology didn’t work. Their heat didn’t work. Their gym was shut down. They had no money for music classes. They didn’t have books.
This describes the students at Spain Elementary School in Detroit, Michigan.
That is, until DeGeneres heard about them.
Spain Elementary teachers like Kelly, who appeared in a clip on the Ellen Show, tried to stay positive, though.
“I make my focus about my students being engaged, enthusiastic and wanting to learn, keeping smiles on their faces,” Kelly said. “Their passion for learning increases my passion for teaching.”
DeGeneres and Lowes, through their Toolbox for Education program, decided to make their futures a little more bright.
Every staff member received a $100 Visa gift card, along with a $50,000 technology donation for the school.
Even more, Lowes Heroes donated $200,000 worth of materials and assistance to rebuild the school’s roof, along with an additional $250,000.
The school’s principal went on to describe how the school has no money for music teachers, so the school’s regular teachers volunteer. Justin Bieber, a special guest on the show, then announced that $1 from every ticket he sold at his shows would go to the school.
Even more love for Ms. Beasley
Degeneres met Dianna Beasley back in 2005 after being one of the millions of Americans devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
All of her worldly possessions were gone, but she simply wanted to dance with DeGeneres and have a good time.
What she didn’t expect, though, was that DeGeneres would award her a new car.
Five years later, the two met again to check up on Beasley and her health journey, and five years after that, Beasley made another appearance ... and got another special surprise.
Beasley described how she recently went back to school, completed a marathon and had plans to start a healthy food truck business with her granddaughter in order to promote health in her home city of New Orleans.
“I was saving my money ... to purchase the healthiest food truck in the city of New Orleans to put out on the street so people can enjoy healthy foods like the delicious quinoas, the greens, the great beans, the rice, the vegetables ... those are the items that are gonna be on the food truck,” Beasley said.
This all takes money, of course.
So, DeGeneres and Shutterfly wanted to “make her dream come true” by awarding her a brand new food truck for free.
A Christmas miracle for the Tehan family
This Mississippi couple had four kids, no furnishings for their new home and a caring aunt who wrote to DeGeneres about their story.
From housing to daycare, money was tight for the Tehan family, even though they both worked more than full time.
“It’s a whole lot,” Michelle Tehan said. “We’re in the hole every month.”
After moving, they still bought a Christmas tree for the children because they heard about having a Christmas tree at school.
“The tree went up, but we didn’t even have dressers upstairs,” Tehan said.
This couple worked even harder for months in advance of Christmas to have gifts for all their children, which included 5-year-old triplets.
In collaboration with Target, DeGeneres awarded them with all the furnishings they needed for their entire home, especially for the holiday season. This included picture frames and stockings, simple things they didn’t have.
And, so they could get more of what they needed, Target also awarded them a $10,000 gift card.