The sweetest tribute. On Monday (Jan. 17), Trisha Yearwood raised upwards of $30,000 in honor of Betty White on what would have been the late screen icon’s 100th birthday.
“Who doesn’t love Betty White? We all do. And I just think Betty, right now, is so happy that this is the way that the world is choosing to celebrate her birthday, by giving to animals, which was so near and dear to her heart,” the country singer said in a video explaining her participation in the #BettyWhiteChallenge, which honored the late star’s memory and her love for animals by raising money for animal charities. Yearwood was raising funds for Dottie’s Yard.
In her video, Yearwood noted that TalkShopLive, the streaming platform that was hosting her video, would match up to $10,000. “So I thought, ‘If they’re gonna do that, I’ll do that!'” she declared.
The country star also said she thought the challenge should be an annual one. “The world has really lost a wonderful person, but this is how we keep people that we love alive,” Yearwood said in the video. “I think we should do this every year on Betty’s birthday, personally. 101st birthday, we’ll be here!”
The donations began rolling in, and after just 15 minutes, Yearwood revealed her followers’ efforts had yielded more than $24,000 — just six grand below her overall goal of $30,000. And a few hours later, her fundraiser had easily cleared that benchmark.
“I’m blown away! We’ve already reached our goal of $30,000+, but let’s keep this love flowing!!” she tweeted Monday afternoon. “Thank you all so much!! xo #BettyWhiteChallenge.”
A noted animal lover, White died on the last day of 2021, a little more than two weeks shy of her 100th birthday. Since then, Betty White: A Celebration, a previously filmed documentary celebrating The Golden Girls star’s century mark, has been released in theaters, and Disney has unveiled her animal-filled 2013 National Geographic special, Betty White Goes Wild!, exclusively on Disney+.
For her part, Yearwood closed out 2021 by surprising an emotional Lauren Alaina with an invitation to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry partway through the younger singer’s December 18 set at the iconic Nashville venue.
Check out updates on Yearwood’s tweets about the #BettyWhiteChallenge:
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