Ellen DeGeneres staged a record giveaway on her talk show, surprising one family with $1m.
As part of The Ellen DeGeneres Show‘s 12 Days of Giveaways last November, Christi and Robert Daniels, who are the parents to four sons, were picked due to their generosity and desire to give back to the community, despite their own financial struggles.
They won a prize package that included thousands of dollars in gift cards, a widescreen TV, and two plane tickets.
On the show, the family received a surprise visit at their apartment in Hawthorne, California before getting transported to the studio and joining DeGeneres on stage.
“No matter what you’re struggling with, no matter how you’re living paycheck to paycheck, you still want to pay it forward, you still help others,” Ellen said, after Christi relayed an anecdote about helping a family in Walmart.
“You’re here because we’re gonna do something big that we’ve never done for any family ever,” the host continued. “It’s the biggest thing we’ve ever done... so, you like Cheerios?”
DeGeneres then revealed that the show had partnered with Cheerios to give them $500,000, adding: “That is gonna take care of a lot. It’s gonna take care of your debt, it is gonna take care of college for your kids. You’re in a two-bedroom apartment, you can buy a house now.”
She then revealed the second surprise up her sleeve: Cheerios was giving the family another $500,000 to pay it forward to others in need.
