“Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek is doing his part to combat homelessness in his community. The 79-year-old host, along with his wife of 30 years, Jean Trebek, donated $500,000 to Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission, a faith-based nonprofit organization that aims to demonstrate God’s love by providing food, clothing, and shelter to homeless people in California.
The generous contribution comes a few months after the couple donated $100,000 to the local homeless outreach organization to build out another one of its facilities in North Hollywood, according to an Instagram post from Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission’s CEO, Ken Craft. The new site will include over 80 beds and bathrooms, a laundry room, a commissary, and a wing named after them.
“I gave him a tour of the [North Hollywood] shelter and the navigation center and he asked if I would come to his house,” Craft wrote of his March meeting with Trebek. “I went to his house and he handed me a check for $100,000. What an incredibly kind, gracious and generous man. We continue to pray for his health and healing.”
The “Jeopardy!” legend was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer last year, but has remained motivated and uplifted, encouraging fans in similar situations to keep a positive attitude. After beating the 18 percent one-year survival rate in March, he credited the power of prayer for keeping him alive.
The homeless epidemic in California continues to hit record levels with senior homelessness projected to nearly triple by 2030, to 106,000 people, according to a multi-site study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. The Trebeks’ most recent donation will help fund a 50,000-square-foot facility in the San Fernando Valley that is set to break ground in 2021, with hopes of housing homeless seniors in the area, according to PEOPLE.
The couple released a statement, via a representative according to an ABC affiliate in Illinois, in which he explained why the 35-year “Jeopardy!” host and his wife decided to make such a generous contribution.
“They believe in helping locally as well as globally and want to help support their community,” the representative said. “They also believe that homeless people are just ordinary people who have had bad circumstances happen to them, and deserve a helping hand, not judgment.”
The couple, who have lived in the Valley for 30 years, hope their contribution inspires others in the area to do the same.
