14 DAY TRIAL // They’re often criticized for enjoying one too many cocktails on their morning segment on The Today Show or for saying the wrong thing at the wrong moment, but there’s no denying Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford’s heart is in the right place.
They’ve launched the 2014 edition of their campaign Shine a Light, with Hoda saying she wants to do something to help kids and families struggling with cancer, while Kathie Lee will be encouraging people to “create memories” and donating to the Salvation Army.
Check out the video below to find out more about their plans.
Getting all teared up, Hoda recalls her 2007 visit to St. Jude’s Children Hospital, which is when she first came into contact with the reality of a cancer diagnosis in a child.
“As a cancer survivor myself, I know what it feels like as a grownup. But what I can't even fathom, even now, is what it feels like to be a kid... struggling with this grown-up disease, something they shouldn't have to deal with. And all you want to do is reach out and help and hug,” she says, barely fighting back tears.
For Shine a Light, she wants to come out with a music video, one that will bring comfort and hope to all children struggling with the terrible disease, but also to their families.
“It will be an anthem about being brave and being strong,” she says, one that will hopefully be played in all hospitals around the country. She doesn’t offer more details on who she has in mind for the music.
Meanwhile, her co-host Kathie Lee will be raising money for the charity organization Salvation Army. To do that, she and her family will be coming out with a coffee book that will actually serve a dual purpose.
“I want this book to be a blessing to whoever picks it up. I want to put a smile on their face. I want to put a prayer of gratitude in their own souls for the blessings that they have in life,” she says. The other goal for the book is to have all proceeds go to charity.