Oprahs Favorite Things

Newton Nonprofit Raffles Off Oprah Watch

Sue Bandanza has a fantastic new way to tell time.

Funny enough, the Needham resident had almost run out of time when she finally got around to buying raffle tickets for a chance to win the 25th anniversary Oprah Winfrey watch—a fundraiser for her friend’s nonprofit organization Dream Big!.

“There was this blurb [on Facebook] about it being the last day and then I saw that I could buy the tickets online, so I did, and two days later she [friend Linda Driscoll] called me to tell me that I had won,” Bandanza said.

On Tuesday, Driscoll—a Newton resident who graduated together with Bandanza from Newton South High School —stopped by her friend’s office in Needham to deliver the raffle prize.

The sparking Phllip Stein watch was designed specially for the 25th season of “The Oprah Show” and features 58 hand-cut diamonds, a silver 2 and 5 representing the special anniversary and a silver “O” in the center—for “Oprah,” of course. The watch also comes with interchangeable bands and has two faces for two different time zones.

When asked if she was an Oprah fan, Bandanza responded: “Everyone’s an Oprah fan,” adding that winning the watch was “huge.”

So how did one of Oprah’s Favorite Things get from Chicago to Needham?

Driscoll explained: “We had sent information to Oprah about Dream Big!, saying ‘Would you support Dream Big!' or looking for auction items, and I got an e-mail saying I was invited to 'The Oprah Show' to be on a show about heroes.”

Driscoll, who had been involved in nonprofits for many years, working for Special Olympics, the Women’s Sports Foundation and the American Red Cross, launched her own nonprofit organization in January 2010.

“We created Dream Big! basically to break down the economic barrier that prevents girls from participating in sports. So we focus on underprivileged girls who participate in sports but can’t afford the items—the program fees, the uniforms, the scholarships,” Driscoll said.

Partnering with similar nonprofits like the Red Auberbach Youth Foundation and the Play Ball! Foundation, Dream Big! has helped programs, teams and individuals, from starting a double dutch team at a Boston middle school to providing sneakers for an elementary school running club.

“We grew much quicker than anticipated. We started about a year-and-a-half ago and we’ve already impacted 1,000 girls in our first year,” Driscoll said.

The Total Cost Of Oprah's Favorite Things: $23.8 Million

Although Oprah has done many other audience giveaways—all-expense-paid trips to Australia, Disney, and Philadelphia, cars, strollers, etc.—we're focusing here on her annual holiday installments of Favorite Things. We've priced the items (approximately, anyhow) and multiplied them by 300, which is the amount of people in her typical studio audience .

* Key lime pie ($11)
* Croissants ($4)
* Fat Witch Baby Gift Tin ($4)
* Good Karmal Mini Crates ($25)
* Holiday tin of Garrett's Popcorn ($21)
* Mariebelle Hot Chocolate Powder ($15)
* Cranberry Creations by Nantucket Clipper ($36)
* Piper-Heidsieck Champagne ($40)
* Pillsbury Homebaked Classics ($3)
* BlissLabs Glamour Gloves and Glamour Gel ($66)
* Origins Perfect World White Tea Body Cream ($30)
* Kiehl's Limited Edition Gift Box ($265)
* DreamTime Foot Cozys ($55)
* J.

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