Oprah’s Big Give, Week 7: “Staying Alive”

It’s the home stretch for the Big Give, and the final three arrive in Chicag-O for their biggest challenge yet. Cameron, Stephen, and Brandi are left, and it seems as though it is anybody’s game. Brandi seems to struggle during individual challenges, but soars within a group, while Cameron has consistently been strong but flies under the radar a bit. Stephen is definitely the frontrunner and favorite to win it all, but last week his temper took over a bit and affected his performance.

Oprah greets the three finalists outside Grant Park and congratulates them. They expect the next mission to take place in Chicago, but when Nate lands a giant helicopter in front of them, they realize they are hitting the road again for what O calls “The Big Family Reunion.” Oprah says that they will be reunited with their loved ones for the first time in months, but I don’t think it’s been more than a few weeks to be honest, O. No bother, the gist is that they have four days, $10,000 apiece, and must help people in their home towns.

Oprah warns them not to let their home towns down and promises to return for elimination night. Nate flies them to the airport and they each go home after a helicopter ride around Chicago. Brandi arrives in Sierra Vista, Arizona, and surprises her, shall we say, “eccentric” mother. Dogs yap about, Mom tries to finish her laundry and conceal her underwear from the cameras, and they plot a way to surprise Dad that involves hiding and dressing up in costumes.

Brandi finally opts for the simple surprise of standing on the side of the house and screaming as he arrives home. It seems to work and the reunion is sweet – but now it’s time for work! The family gathers around the coffee table and schemes about how to help their town, but Brandi is a tad bit annoyed by her mother’s suggestions.

Stephen shows up in Bedford, New York, and waits at home to surprise his wife, Christine, and their two daughters. They are all shocked and excited, with his youngest daughter asking him if he’d been kicked off yet. Nice! Cameron, meanwhile, arrives in Roanoke, Virginia, and hits the ground running right off the bat, making his family work. His parents, sister, girlfriend, and two best friends are all there, and it seems that Mom knows about a family where a young girl has cancer.

Stephen decides to take some time off and goes to his daughter’s lacrosse game. It’s sweet to see how much he misses them and how excited he is to be back, but I worry that four days isn’t much time, and Cameron already has a huge head start on him. Stephen is aware of this, telling us that since Brandi and Cameron are without so many distractions (i.e. spouses and kids), they might be able to focus better.

Cameron and his main squeeze Jenna head to the Corvin family’s home and meet Skylar. We are told of her struggle with bone cancer and how she lost her shoulder blade to beat the cancer, only to have it come back in her leg. Skylar is convinced if she beat it once she can beat it again, but they are in a difficult spot financially. Cameron decides to pay off their maxed out credit cards, get them a new car, and give Skylar a fabulous, pink, room make-over.

Brandi meets with her mother’s friends and learns of Lynette Wilson, a mother of five autistic kids who is trying to send her kids to an autistic camp this summer. Her husband is away in Iraq fighting and she has been fundraising on her own, so Brandi surprises her with $3,000 so the kids can go to camp.

Stephen finally gets to work, gathering some family and friends around to brainstorm. Stephen realizes how he never really got involved with any local charities, and he feels bad about it. He is pumped to get things rolling now.

Cameron gathers his crew around again, electing himself facilitator and giving out tasks to the rest of the family. Good thing they don’t have real jobs or places to be. Mom gets on finding a decorator, Dad gets on finding a car, and his friends get on fundraising.

Brandi’s mother has some more friends who come by and put Brandi in contact with Cecilia Nelson and her young daughter, Ally, who has severe brain tumors. Brandi comes up with a clever idea when she realizes that Ally loves the Miss Sierra Vista pageants, and seeing how Brandi is a former title-holder in the competition, she might be able to set up a day for Ally as the queen.

The big question is how the reigning Miss SV will handle having her title stripped for a day. Luckily, she is pretty gracious about it, even offering an extra crown she has laying around for Ally to keep. A montage of clips of Brandi in the pageant follows, but she leaves us by saying how she thinks the pageants give her an edge – Cameron, after all, isn’t Mr. Roanoke!

Stephen finally hits the road and meets with Carla, the director of Northern Westchester Shelter, a safe haven for victims of domestic violence. This seems like a good choice; I’m all for helping cancer victims as much as the next guy, but every week the contestants seem to use that as a crutch. It’s nice to see Stephen think outside the box of people-in-need.

Carla says security is the biggest problem they have at their shelter, and that sending the women back into the world also proves to be challenging. Stephen decides to have a fundraiser at his home in the mountains to help pay for the renovations.

Next we meet back up with Cameron en route home from, where else, Target. Work is underway on Skylar’s new room and the community is all there to help. Time is almost up, though, as day four – reveal day! – rolls around.

Brandi still has some extra time and money, so she meets up with a pal who tells her about a family with a son who recently survived a drowning, leaving him severely brain damaged. She meets with the family and introduces herself as being from the Big Give. Each week I am curious about this; they never name drop Oprah during these introductions, leading me to believe that O said No to that.

We are told how a friend of the Thompson family was watching his son and their son, but the boys wound up in a neighbor’s yard and in their pool. While the man’s son soon recovered, three-year-old Ryan Thompson didn’t show any signs of getting better. He can’t really walk or talk, and the therapy bills are mounting up, so Brandi leaves them with $1,000. While the gesture was nice and appreciated by the family, after I was left sobbing along to this story for a few minutes I hoped she could have done a little more to help, rather than giving them her leftovers.

Cameron is greeted by Judge Jamie as he puts the finishing touches on his reveal. Several hundred people show up for it, including a peppy cheerleading squad who give Skylar her very own “welcome home” cheer. The love even seems to put a smile on the otherwise stoic Jamie’s face.