Keith Morrison is remembering his late stepson Matthew Perry with a call to action for Giving Tuesday.
A month after the Friends star’s untimely death at 54, Morrison broke his silence on the loss by urging fans to donate to the recently launched Matthew Perry Foundation, which seeks to help those struggling with addiction.
“This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different,” the Dateline correspondent wrote on social media Monday, including a link to his stepson’s charity. “And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Do what you can; he would have been grateful.”
Mike Pont/WireImage; Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
Morrison has been married to Perry’s mother, Suzanne, since 1981, when the actor was 12. The union came about a decade after she split from Perry’s father, John Bennett Perry.
Launched earlier this month, in the wake of Perry’s death, the Matthew Perry Foundation describes its mission as “the realization of Matthew’s enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction. It will honor his legacy and be guided by his own words and experiences and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible.”
Perry was candid about his addiction struggles and difficult road to sobriety throughout his career, and he was an outspoken advocate for substance abuse treatment. He had plans to establish a foundation to support others working through substance abuse issues before his death, and now his loved ones are carrying out that goal in his honor.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Perry’s family added, “The potential that the Matthew Perry Foundation has to help those suffering from this disease is something we are proud to bring to the world.”
The foundation’s website features a quote from Perry’s 2022 appearance on the Q With Tom Power podcast, in which he emphasized the importance of his work with addiction recovery.
“When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that,” Perry said. “Addiction is far too powerful for anyone to defeat alone. But together, one day at a time, we can beat it down.”
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