Jeopardy Champion James Holzhauer Gives Earnings To Pancreatic Cancer Walk In Alex Trebek’s Name

Jun 21, 2019 by apost team

James Holzhauer was recently de-throned as a long-running champ on the game show Jeopardy! but not before he won almost $2.5 million according to the show’s website. Since finishing his run on the show in early June, he has been spending and donating those well-earned winnings.

James recently donated to the 2019 Naperville Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk as seen on their website. He is a Naperville, Illinois native and wanted to do something for pancreatic cancer research. That is because Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek was sadly diagnosed with that particular form of cancer.

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According to People, Holzhauer donated $1,109.14 to the walk, which is organized by the research foundation Lustgarten. Why that particular number? Because that corresponds to the birthday of his daughter. Eagle-eyed Jeopardy! fans will notice that his daughter’s birthday of 11/09/14 also corresponds to the winnings he took on his April 9 game, as reported by The Wrap.

According to CNN, the organizer of the event, Ann Zediker, reached out to Holzhauer after his final episode of Jeopardy! In that episode, Alex reveals that Holzhauer’s daughter had kindly made him a get well soon card. “I want to express my thanks to your beautiful little daughter, Natasha, for having made this get well card for me,” Trebek said on the show. “That was very sweet of her.”

Zediker told CNN that there was no expectation on her end but she was thrilled that Holzhauer responded with a donation. Holzhauer’s gift came with the message, "For Alex Trebek and all the other survivors.” It’s a message with a lot of optimism because Trebek is thankfully reacting well to his chemotherapy and is now “near remission.” Congratulations to Alex.

We hope this altruistic act will inspire others. If you would like to donate to this wonderful cause, you can visit the Lustgarten website. Do you know somebody who would benefit? Tell them about this story.