NORWICH – Oprah Winfrey is known for giving her talk show audience members extravagant gifts, but as three Norwich natives found out, sometimes it is better to give than to receive.

Jenn Cooper, Jennifer Johnson-Lynch and Lori Youngs attended the taping of Winfrey’s recent challenge show, during which audience members were given $1,000 debit cards and a DVD camcorder. She challenged them to spread acts of kindness, recording the way in which they chose to do so. Each of the three Norwich-born women chose a different way to share the wealth.

Youngs, who still lives in Norwich, knew she wanted to help the family of a local pastor. She had no one in mind, until she ran into a former high school classmate Pastor Matt Frayer. Matt and his wife Rena had seen a lot of sadness over the course of the year, losing a baby only hours after her birth.