On Friday evening, Jeopardy!‘s Twitter account announced the first week’s worth of donations to guest host Bill Whitaker‘s favorite charity.
Whitaker took over as interim host from CNN anchor Anderson Cooper earlier this week on Monday. It began the 60 Minutes journalist‘s two-week stint on the game show. Now that Whitaker’s first week is coming to an end, the game show has revealed the accumulated donations so far. Jeopardy! is generously matching each contestant’s winnings and donating the total to each guest host’s chosen charity.
Since Whitaker hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he chose to help out a charity that does great work in the area. Media Fellowship House has been part of their community since 1944. According to their website, the organization “has continued the work of our founders’ mission for 76 years by creating programs, organizing coalitions, and facilitating conversations that promote diversity and understanding. Our efforts focus on fair housing, education, and racial justice advocacy work.”
Although there’s still a whole second week of Whitaker’s guest hosting appearance, they’ve already announced the first week’s total donations. $129,199 has been raised so far that will be donated to Media Fellowship House very soon.
“$129,199 raised for @MediaFellows during @BillWhitakerCBS’s first week as guest host!” Jeopardy! tweeted.
‘Jeopardy!’ Guest Host Bill Whitaker’s Advice For Contestants
Recently, interim host Bill Whitaker opened up about his love for the game show. As the journalist took over the podium earlier this week, he shared further thoughts on how much Jeopardy! means to him and his wife as well.
Whitaker and his wife watch Jeopardy! together as much as they can. They even pause the show after each question and discuss every answer before pressing play again. He calls Jeopardy! the couple’s “favorite show” and says they catch up on episodes every night he’s home. Yet Whitaker admits they often get the questions wrong even though that doesn’t stop them from coming back for more.
That’s why Whitaker says he admires Jeopardy!‘s contestants. He calls them “amazing” and is always left impressed by their intelligence on such a wide variety of topics.
“I don’t understand how they do what they do,” Whitaker says of the Jeopardy! contestants. “It’s really amazing.”
In addition, Whitaker shared his own tips for interested contestants. In his opinion, reading, watching the news, and keeping up with current events could give you a leg up on the competition.
“Just read. Be involved, be engaged. Watch the news, watch 60 Minutes. Know what’s going on in the world. I think that’s what makes you a good contestant,” he explained.
