Jon Stewart took his final bow Thursday night as the host of "The Daily Show," but he did not leave his desk without giving one charity a huge gift they would never forget. Over $2.2 million was raised for New York Collaborates for Autism (NYCA) after Stewart teamed up with charity fundraising company Omaze to raise money through a meet-and-greet raffle, CNBC reported.
"Over the last 16 years, no one has done more than Jon to engage people around the issues that truly impact our lives, and it's fitting that he leveraged his final show to raise over $2M for this incredible cause," Omaze co-founder Matt Pohlson said in a statement, according to Business Insider.
So how was the money raised? Stewart and "The Daily Show" gave one lucky winner the opportunity to fly out to New York City to witness the final taping of the Comedy Central show and meet Stewart. All they had to do was donate a minimum of $10, which entered them into a lottery.
Omaze and Stewart raised $2,235,520 for NYCA from a total of 47,048 people across 78 countries. The highest donation received was $35,000, while the average donation was $45.50. The raffle winner was identified as Sameer P. from Santa Clara, Calif. He received two tickets to Thursday's finale of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," according to CNN Money.
This is the second year "The Daily Show" and Jon Stewart participated in a charity giveaway with Omaze.
