Sanjay Gupta began his two-week stint as guest host of “Jeopardy!” this week. Like the 10 guest hosts who preceded him, the CNN chief medical correspondent chose a charity to support. The game show is matching the cumulative contestant winnings and donating the money to the guest host’s chosen charity.
Gupta, an Atlanta resident, chose Odyssey.
Odyssey works with underserved Atlanta Public Schools students, offering an educational six-week summer camp to almost 400 students. Participants focus on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) through a project-based learning curriculum that “encourages students to embark upon a quest for knowledge and a journey toward higher education.”
Additionally, Odyssey offers year-round tutoring and mentoring programs. It is free for students and families to participate.
“I’m probably going to get a little emotional, I’ll warn you because it has been a tough year for kids through this pandemic,” Gupta said in a “Jeopardy!” guest-host interview. “So, you know, I think a lot of kids, my kids have — they’ve done well. But I know a lot of kids haven’t been able to have the same resources. So, I thought it was a great opportunity to try and provide that for them. And the amount of money that this raised will transform some of these kids’ lives.”
He added that some students have lost a year of school and Odyssey may offer a fix for them.
“I’m very excited about what’s happened here and the impact it’s going to have,” he said.
To date, “Jeopardy!” has made nearly $2 million in charitable contributions to the guest hosts’ chosen charities.
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