NILES — A husband and wife from Niles went to see Oprah and were inspired by her new project called "Oprah's Big Give."

It encourages contestants to change someone's life in just five days. This couple decided to raise money for a Niles family in need.

After Chad and Tammy Gardner left the Oprah show, they knew what family they wanted to help. And they also knew they wanted to get more people involved. But they never expected it would include the whole community.

The Gardners started small. Chad got his students at Cedar Lane Alternative High School to help raise money. Before long, several other Niles schools joined forces.

They organized their own events to collect money. By the end of the week everyone had raised $70,000.

The donations went to Tammy Beers and her three children. Tammy's husband suddenly died last year and her daughter Taylor suffers from a rare skin disease. The money has helped cover medical bills, repairs to their home, and a full college scholarship for one of her sons.

The Gardners sent a video of their Big Give to the Oprah show. Since then, the show's producers have been in contact with them. And a clip of their video may air on Monday’s show.

"We're really excited about it. In retrospect, when we look at it, it wasn't about being on Oprah; it was about helping a family. But this is just kind of the icing on the cake. You know, letting everyone know what a small community can do," said Chad Gardner.

"They've had two of my kids, Mr. Gardner has, and they know what I've been through and he just felt that we deserved it. And I just kept trying to tell him that there are people out that deserve more than what I do,” said Tammy Beers.

Because their big give was such a success, Chad and Tammy Gardner plan on doing something similar every year.