Ellen DeGeneres gifts Hempstead man and family $40,000
Ellen DeGeneres surprises Malachi Davis' mom, Michelle Merle with a check just for her on Thursday's episode of her daytime talk show. She later awarded Davis and his family a separate $20,000 check to help with child care expenses. Also pictured are Davis' girlfriend, Star, and his younger sisters Anna, second from left, and Cha Cha. Credit: Warner Bros. / Michael Rozman
Daytime talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, who surprised a Hempstead fan and his Queens family two weeks ago with gifts and a trip to Los Angeles for a taping, made good on that promise on Thursday's episode, on which she gave the family two more gifts.
Malachi Davis, who lives in Hempstead with his girlfriend Star, had written to DeGeneres saying his mother Michelle Merle, of Cambria Heights, was his "superhero" for being a single mom who raised him and his sisters Cha Cha and Anna. Two weeks ago, DeGeneres sent her correspondent Jeannie Klisiewicz to surprise the family with every gift from the show's "12 Days of Giveaways," plus the paid trip.
On Thursday's follow-up, DeGeneres brought the family onstage from the audience, and in a promotion with Shutterfly, a maker of personalized photo books, gave Merle $20,000 for her upcoming 50th birthday.
Then turning to Davis, a recent college graduate whose daughter, Ava, turned 1 on the day of the taping, DeGeneres and Shutterfly gave him $20,000 to help with child care expenses.
"I think a lot of people don't realize how hard it is to raise a child with both parents," Davis told DeGeneres. "And then to raise a man, being a woman by yourself, is extremely difficult. And I can remember days, my mom getting on the bus and train and it's snowing and we didn't have a car, and she would take me to school, then go to Brooklyn and go to her job" as a teacher.
He added: "She's my hero and I just hope that I'm able to be the same type of hero to my daughter."
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