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‘Jeopardy!’: Tournament of Champions Guest Host Buzzy Cohen’s Charity of Choice Honors Alex Trebek

The Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions kicks off Monday. In the special ten-day event, fifteen of the quiz show’s biggest recent winners will gather to compete for a huge payday. The tournament consists of those who had the most wins between the 2019 Tournament of Champions and the end of 2020. However, the contestants aren’t the only ones who are set for a big win.

In fact, Jeopardy! is matching the $250,000 payday and giving it to a special charity. No matter who wins, the show will donate to the Hope of the Valley Trebek Center for Homelessness. The Trebek center helps the homeless population of Los Angeles in several ways.

Not only is Jeopardy! helping the homeless with their donation but they are also honoring the memory of the iconic host. Alex Trebek was passionate about helping those less fortunate. In fact, before he died he donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Hope of the Valley. He wasn’t just an iconic host. He was a good man with a big heart. Trebek truly cared for his fellow man.

More About the Jeopardy! Charity Donation

One of the Jeopardy! host’s last charitable acts was a massive $500,000 donation to that organization. Originally, the funds were meant to help fund a facility called The Hope Center. However, that project was still underfunded. So, Hope of the Valley discussed an alternate plan with the Trebek family. 

That $500,000 donation was a seed that helped attract over eight million dollars in donations from the private sector and the City of Los Angeles combined.

The new Trebek Center for the Homeless would be a smaller facility. However, it would be no less helpful than the one that the Jeopardy! host originally donated toward. The Trebek Center will help to keep just over 100 people off the streets of the San Fernando Valley at a time. It isn’t just a place to get a warm bed and hot meals, though. The facility will provide several programs that assist the homeless. These programs don’t just provide temporary comfort. Instead, they are aimed at helping people start a new life.

The facility will help with job training as well as placement. However, gainful employment is hardly the first step to a new life. So, the facility is also set to offer mental health services including substance abuse counseling. At the same time, residents of the Trebek Center will be able to take life skills courses. The facility will also assist residents in finding and acquiring housing, according to the Jeopardy! website.

In March, Alex Trebek’s family participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility. Shortly thereafter, Jean Trebek, Alex’s widow, made a statement. In that statement, she said, “…and to support people who need a helping hand is the main goal of The Trebek Family Foundation and is truly a dream come true for both Alex and I.”

So, Jeopardy! isn’t just donating to a good cause. They’re helping to preserve the legacy of a great host and a truly good man.