Oprah's Top 20 Moments

The Small Change Campaign (1997)

One season my producers came up with a brilliant idea for how we could mobilize viewers to give to others. We created the world's largest piggy bank. Viewers from every corner of the country collected their loose coins and sent them to our Angel Network so we could give 50 students a chance to attend college. By the end of that season, our piggy bank had $3.5 million.

One of my happiest days on television was seeing the astonishment on those students' faces when they heard they'd have an opportunity that would forever change their families—proof that what we call small can make an immeasurable difference.