Oprah gives $500,000 to high school after-school program

Oprah Winfrey made a surprise visit to a New Jersey high school to say she's giving $500,000 to an initiative aimed at keeping kids off the streets from 6 p.m. to midnight.
 
Principal Akbar Cook's "Lights On" program opens West Side High School in Newark on Friday nights. WPVI-TV reports that kids can play basketball, shoot pool, play video games or even use a recording studio.
 
Winfrey's gift will help the program operate three nights a week over the summer. She told hundreds of cheering students Friday she was inspired by "all of the great things that are happening here."
 
Cook garnered headlines last fall for installing washing machines so students who couldn't afford to wash their clothes wouldn't miss school because they were being bullied for wearing dirty clothes.
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