Alex Trebek donates $500K for construction of new Southern California homeless shelter
Alex Trebek, philanthropist and beloved host of TV’s “Jeopardy,” along with his wife Jean, just donated $500,000 to the Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission in support of Southern California’s homeless population. This recent donation is on top of a previous $100,000 donation to the same charity.
The latest Trebek donation is going toward the construction of a new facility that will hopefully be up and running next year in the San Fernando Valley, according to Yahoo! News.
In a statement shared by ABC 7 News in Los Angeles, Trebek said that he and his wife believe in helping locally as well as globally. The couple has lived in the Valley for over 30 years and want to help support their community. He says they believe that the homeless deserve a helping hand, not judgment.
Ken Craft, founder of Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission, said that the facility going up thanks to the Trebeks’ donation will be called “Hope Central.” Plans for the structure call for a 50,000-square-foot facility designed to accommodate homeless seniors in the area. Craft’s people are searching for an appropriate location and property now. They hope to break ground on the new shelter in 2021, according to TMZ.
Earlier this week, the Trebeks donned hard hats and toured the construction of the North Hollywood shelter going up that was made possible by their previous donation. To give credit where credit is due, the Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission is naming the biggest room in that facility the “Alex and Jean Trebek Multi-Purpose Room.”
In the spring of 2019, Alex Trebek was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. One year after that diagnosis, he posted a video saying that he’d beaten the one-year survival rate for Stage 4 pancreatic cancer patients, which is 18 per cent.
“I’m very happy to report I have just reached that marker,” Trebek said.
Below, see the emotional video message the 79-year-old Trebek produced for his fans regarding his cancer update.
~ Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
