The Midwest United States experienced some extreme cold during the polar vortex. It was then that a woman warmed our hearts by paying for 70 homeless people to stay in local hotels.

The donor who paid for those people to stay warm in Chicago was Candice Payne. When her identity went public, she said she didn’t blink an eye when putting up the cost for those rooms on her credit card.

After doing so, she took to social media to enlist more volunteers. They would eventually help 100 people who would have been out in the cold with a room, food and essentials. Now that it has become a reality, Payne has a new purpose in life; helping the homeless.

Payne created a non-profit called Action for a Cause and she intends to care for the long-term housing needs of the homeless by acquiring and renovating properties. A GoFundMe campaign was set up to raise funds and she ended up with a special gift from Ellen DeGeneres.

Ellen had her on the show and put up $50,000 toward her goal. She donated half and Wal-Mart donated the other half.

You can hear her react to the good news in this video: