Champions Unite Event Featuring SoCal Pro Athletes Raises Nearly $360,000 for Lung Health

The stars came out to support the American Lung Association CHAMPIONS UNITE event on August 25, 2022, the broadcast and livestream broadcast has garnered nearly $360,000 to date in support the organization’s mission to save lives by preventing lung disease and promoting lung health. Honored for his longtime achievements as a leader in the field of lung health was Ravi Salgia, MD, Ph.D., the Arthur and Rosalie Kaplan Chair of Medical Oncology for City of Hope’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. A full rebroadcast of the event is now available at Lung.org/champions-unite.

The broadcast was hosted by Spectrum SportsNet’s Chris McGee alongside NBA Legend Robert Horry and former Dodgers great Eric Karros. Lung Association Celebrity Ambassadors Shantel VanSanten (For All Mankind, Shooter, One Tree Hill) and former Major League Baseball player and current San Diego Padres broadcaster Tony Gwynn Jr. delivered important lung health messaging between jaw-dropping talent performances by Dodgers’ pitcher Clayton Kershaw and teammate Mookie Betts; Chargers’ Keenan Allen; Clippers’ Reggie Jackson; Ryan Hollingshead of the LA Football Club; Angels’ David Fletcher; Kings’ Left Winger, Alex Iaffalo; Galaxy forward, Dejan Joveljic; retired Lakers’ center Robert Sacre; former Dodgers’ and Padres catcher, Carlos Hernandez; and a special appearance by the Super Bowl LVI-winning Los Angeles Rams.

“The Lung Association is appreciative for the generosity of the participating athletes, our broadcast partner, Spectrum SportsNet and all our spectacular donors for making this year’s Champions Unite a major win for lung health,” said Allison Hickey, Executive Vice President of the American Lung Association. “Champions Unite is a great example of what can happen when diverse audiences come together around the simple truth that ‘when you can’t breathe, nothing else matters®.’”

Among the dozens of outstanding sponsors who made Champions Unite Season Two possible are: City of Hope; Sharp Grossmont Hospital; Clean Energy; San Manuel Band of Mission Indians; SDG&E; South Coast Air Quality Management District; Southern California Edison; Ernst & Young, Osceola Consulting LLC and many more corporate and individual donors supporting the Lung Association’s life-saving work.