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“American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest is enjoying the real-life results of his foundation’s charitable work.
Alongside his sister and parents, the soon-to-be “Wheel of Fortune” host heads the Ryan Seacrest Foundation with the mission of installing media rooms — coined “Seacrest Studios” — within pediatric hospitals across the United States.
The centers create an opportunity for children to exercise their interviewing and storytelling chops with radio and television equipment.
The children play and perform while in care, adding a level of distraction while helping “lift the spirits of as many patients as possible,” Seacrest wrote in a note on the foundation’s website.
All in all, 12 “Seacrest Studios” have been built. And in an Instagram post on August 3, Seacrest shared a clip of Maya Abrahamsson, who hosts her own show through the studio at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Seacrest happened to be her 300th interview, and he gushed about the young talent.
“This is why the @ryanfoundation exists,” Seacrest wrote in the post’s caption. “Maya has embodied the spirit of #SeacrestStudios, putting her heart and soul into this passion she discovered there, and took it further than we’ve seen before.
“She’s been hosting her show at @childrenscolo for about 7 years and just celebrated interviewing her 300th celebrity guest. It’s such an achievement and I can’t wait to see what she does next, because I know it’ll be outstanding. Congratulations @thelatestnewswithmaya!”
According to Abrahamsson’s Instagram, she’s interviewed the likes of “Breaking Bad” lead Bryan Cranston and “Unsane” actor Jay Pharoah.
2 More Seacrest Studios Are Scheduled to Open This Year
If all goes according to plan, 14 Seacrest Studios will be operational across the nation in the next few months. Per the foundation’s website, Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Queens, New York, have media centers pending for fall 2023.
Seacrest’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, received the first Seacrest Studios in 2010. It was installed at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
And most recently, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, opened one up in May.
Ryan Seacrest Hopes to Help as Many as He Can Through What He Knows ‘Best’: ‘Radio & Television’
Whether it be his decades-long tenure with “American Idol,” his stint on “Live With Kelly and Ryan,” or his years as a radio host, Seacrest is a media mogul with a deep passion for what he does.
And in the statement on his website, Seacrest explained why building Seacrest Studios became his charitable focus.
“Over the years, I’ve visited numerous pediatric hospitals that have the weighty task of caring for children facing serious illness or injury and I’ve always been amazed by the courage of the children and the families I meet,” his note reads.
“During these visits, I also learned that the patients were wanting more things to do to distract and entertain them during their hospital stays. This feedback really stuck with me and I told my family over dinner one evening that I wanted to create a foundation that would provide a positive distraction to hospitalized kids through the two things I know best: Radio and Television.”
Seacrest is gearing up to replace Pat Sajak on the syndicated game show “Wheel of Fortune” next year. And fans can also expect to see Seacrest return for the singing competition show’s 21st season in the winter.
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