By Hannah Coone on
On September 22nd, Will Ferrell took part in a golf tournament for his favorite charity, Cancer For College. The event was hosted by charity founder Craig Pollard, one of the comedic actor’s former fraternity brothers at University of Southern California.
Cancer for College began with a business plan Pollard wrote up during senior year at University. It was established in 1993 to provide college scholarships to current and former cancer patients. In February 2006, Pollard himself was hospitalized when a bacterial blood infection forced doctors to put him in a sedated coma for 3 weeks. Consequent blood circulation problems led to the amputation of both legs below the knees. After this ordeal, Pollard extended the scholarships to include amputees.
To date, Cancer for College has donated $67,000 in scholarships to 50 students. This year’s 10 new scholars will share $53,000 thanks to Will Ferrell and his wife, Viveca Paulin. Pollard said, “Ferrell did some Sprint commercials and said he would donate the check, thinking it’d be $10,000. He later called saying, ‘I was way off.’” The actual fee donated was $100,000.
Will Ferrell commented on the lighthearted event, “This is such a fun day for everyone. It’s a chance for old friends to get together and badly play golf and celebrate survival. This is the 6th year I have been involved. There’s been some lewd conduct in the past; I shot a guy last year because he picked up my ball.”
Pollard spoke of the benefits of celebrity support, saying, “Our program has increased considerably in the past 4 years especially thanks to Will’s support. Scholarship amounts and the number of winners selected have more than tripled. We’re so blessed to be able to provide this gift to kids and their families who have endured so much in their lives.”
Copyright © 2006 Look to the Stars
