Winfrey gives Ron Clark Academy $365,000

ATLANTA, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- The heads of the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta say they have received a $365,000 donation from TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

School co-founders Kim Bearden and Ron Clark informed their students Wednesday that the celebrity had made the generous holiday donation in order to support the site's educational attempts to teach at-risk students, Atlanta's WXIA-TV reported.

"She (Winfrey) said that she has been on our Web site," Clark said. "She goes there to check out what we're doing. She loves the school. She loves the kids. She just loves our passion."

Clark appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" several years ago after winning a national Disney teacher award, bringing attention to his educational pursuits.

Clark told his students that he also received a call from the media mogul in which she explained the motivation for the donation, WXIA-TV reported.

"I said how did you come about deciding to send a check for $365,000," he explained. "And, she said, 'I was sitting on my couch and she said and I was thinking about who I wanted to send Christmas gifts to and I thought about you.' And, she said, 'I'm sending $1,000 for every day of the year."