NBC Sports Chicago to host ‘Together We Can’ telethon Wednesday

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Be Chicago: Together We Can

“Be Chicago: Together We Can,” a four-hour, star-studded fundraiser to benefit the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund, will be presented Wednesday night on NBC Sports Chicago.

Airing from 7 to 11 p.m., the event will feature appearances by dozens of celebrated athletes and exclusive musical performances from Chicago and Plain White T’s, among many others artists.

Hosted by NBC Sports Chicago’s David Kaplan and Eddie Olczyk, the special is being produced with United Way of Metro Chicago and The Chicago Community Trust, which jointly established the emergency fund to aid local nonprofit organizations serving the region’s most vulnerable residents. (Here is the link.)

The program also will honor "Chicago’s frontline heroes" battling the coronavirus.

Special guests will include:

  • Horace Grant, Will Perdue, Bill Wennington from the 1990s Bulls.
  • Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski, Jon Garland, Cliff Politte, Geoff Blum and Ozzie Guillen from the 2005 White Sox.
  • Dave Bolland, Troy Brouwer, Andrew Ladd and Kris Versteeg from the 2010 Blackhawks. Also Blackhawks legends Denis Savard and Chris Chelios.
  • Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs from the Bears.
  • Isiah Thomas, Jabari Parker and Kendall Gill, all Chicago high school basketball legends.

Musical performers will include Chicago (featuring founding members Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane and James Pankow), Plain White T's, Brett Eldredge, Freddy Jones Band and Jim Peterik.

Among additional guests will be mixed martial artist and retired pro wrestler CM Punk, Fall Out Boy lead vocalist/guitarist Patrick Stump, pro wrestler Seth Rollins, comedian Pat McGann, actor/comedian Jake Johnson, former Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville and former Bears Kyle Long, Israel Idonije, Zach Miller and Tom Waddle.

“We have all been impacted by this crisis and we can get past it at some point, but we have to do it together,” Kevin Cross, senior vice president and general manager of NBC Sports Chicago, said in a statement announcing the event Monday.

“United Way of Metro Chicago and The Chicago Community Trust have done an outstanding job providing for those in need through the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund and we couldn’t be prouder and more honored to assist them in their on-going efforts.”

NBC Sports Chicago will rebroadcast "Be Chicago: Together We Can" at 11 p.m. Wednesday and at 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. Thursday.