Katie Couric's 'Jeopardy!' stint raises $230,000 to fight cancer
Katie Couric recently ended her stint as guest host of "Jeopardy!" Credit: Jeopardy Productions, Inc.
With her two-week turn that ended Friday as a guest host on "Jeopardy!," broadcast journalist Katie Couric raised $230,504 for her designated charities.
The amount, equaling the cumulative winnings of the contestants during Couric's stint, will help support Stand Up To Cancer, a charitable organization Couric co-founded to help fund research, and the Lustgarten Foundation, through its Pancreatic Cancer Collective initiative.
The cause was close to her, with Couric's sister Emily, a Virginia state senator, having succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2001 at age 54. The disease also took the life of longtime "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek last November.
"What a run!!!! I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to host @jeopardy over the past two weeks," Couric, 64, wrote on Instagram and Facebook. "Thank you to everyone who tuned in and supported me as the first-ever female guest host of the show — and to the contestants, staff, and crew of Jeopardy!, you guys made me feel like family and I'm so appreciative."
She lauded the Stand Up To Cancer "pancreatic cancer dream team — they are working tirelessly to develop new treatments and therapies for this terrible disease. I'm beyond grateful." Couric added an emoji of a purple heart, symbolizing, among other things, support for pancreatic-cancer victims and for research into the disease.
TV personality and physician Dr. Mehmet Oz will serve as guest host for two weeks beginning Monday, March 22. His appearance will support HealthCorps, a nonprofit organization that educates teens on health and wellness.
