The Ripple Effect of Oprah's One Act of Kindness

Shaun King, Class of '01

In 1995 King was the victim of a brutal hate crime. Despite undergoing three spinal surgeries and missing two years of high school, he earned a scholarship to Morehouse at age 17. He lost his funding when he was forced to take a medical leave but became an Oprah Scholar upon his return.

A Home in Haiti
King started the nonprofit A Home in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake devastated the island nation. He used the Internet and Twitter to raise $2 million in emergency aid, and supplied nearly 12,000 tents to people who were left homeless.

World Aid Now
Nate Cousineau, a King Twitter follower, was so inspired by A Home in Haiti he decided to launch World Aid Now. The group has funded the construction of 30 new homes for flood victims in Pakistan.

Livestrong Foundation
Photographer Ross Oscar Knight joined King in Haiti, where he captured the earthquake's aftermath. One of his prints was auctioned off to benefit Lance Armstrong's foundation for cancer research.

Community Service in Atlanta
Motivated by the generosity he'd been shown, King spent three years as a motivational speaker in Atlanta's juvenile justice system. He now uses social media to raise money for worthy causes, among them, providing 8,000 meals to poor families and more than $1 million for flood victims.

Disaster Relief and Disaster Training (DRADT)
After volunteering with King's flood relief program in 2009, Chance Craven founded DRADT, which offers logistical support to aid workers and victims of natural disasters.