For Alex Trebek, $100K Was Just the Beginning

The 'Jeopardy!' host keeps giving to a cause he believes in
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 27, 2020 2:00 PM CDT
Updated Jun 27, 2020 3:00 PM CDT
For Alex Trebek, $100K Was Just the Beginning
This May 5, 2019 file photo shows Alex Trebek presenting an award at the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Pasadena, Calif.   (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Alex Trebek showed his support for fighting homelessness in Los Angeles this week by handing over a dazzling $500,000 check, CNN reports. The Jeopardy! host was touring an under-construction shelter in North Hollywood on Tuesday with his wife, Jean, and son Matthew when he surprised his host with the gift. "I have never, ever, received a check for $500,000 and I was just floored. Initially, I was shocked," says Ken Craft, CEO of Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission. "And then I was just overwhelmed with gratitude, because I know how much we can do. The only thing that limits us right now is resources." What's more, Trebek had given Hope of the Valley a donation back in January after visiting its 85-bed shelter.

Craft says Trebek called him after that visit, invited him over, and inquired about the mission's finances. "So we had this wonderful conversation, and you know, he reached on his desk and he handed me an envelope," says Craft. Inside was a $100,000 check. "I was just overwhelmed, and I just said, 'Alex, you don't know how much this means to us.' And so I gave him a hug. This was back in February before, you know, the virus." The Trebeks say they hope others will be inspired to support their local homeless shelters, Good Morning America reports. The couple "believe that homeless people are just ordinary people who have had bad circumstances happen to them, and deserve a helping hand, not judgment," they say in a statement. (Read the latest on Trebek's battle with pancreatic cancer.)

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