Craig Melvin Shares How Late Brother’s Cancer Battle Inspired Golf Tournament Fundraiser
As Craig Melvin gears up for the fourth annual Bottoms Up Invitational golf tournament, he opened up about how his late brother, Lawrence Meadows, inspired the event.
“We started this thing after my older brother died. He was 43 at the time, and he died from colorectal cancer, and he was diagnosed at 39,” Melvin shared in an interview with Us Weekly published on Friday, September 12. “He was a Baptist minister, father of two, and an entrepreneur. And it really was a kick. It was a punch in the gut when he got the diagnosis.”
Melvin recalled “doing a fair amount of advocacy work with the Colorectal Cancer Alliance based in D.C.” before Meadows’ passing, adding, “It’s America’s largest charity devoted to ending colorectal cancer in our lifetime. It seemed like a natural fit.”
Upon learning that he was “not going to survive his cancer battle,” Meadows encouraged Melvin to keep advocating for colorectal cancer awareness. “He insisted that I continue to work after he was gone, so I’ve done that,” Melvin noted. “We use the megaphone at the Today show to raise awareness and encourage folks to get screened, and we’ve been doing that for a number of years now.”
It was a celebrity pal who suggested that Melvin turn his advocacy into a sporting event. “A friend of mine, several years ago, he was like, ‘You really could probably raise some money as well if you had a golf tournament and a concert,’ and that was Darius Rucker,” he shared.
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Since Melvin and his wife, Lindsay Czarniak, hosted the first Bottoms Up Invitational in 2021, the event has raised “about $3.2 million” for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance.
“We expect to raise another million this year,” Melvin told the outlet. “This year, we’re going to hear from a man who’s got stage IV colorectal cancer right now. He’s got a 5-year-old son, and he’s in the fight of his life. So we have these survivors and we have patients, and we have doctors and nurses and caregivers as well. All of them come together for a party with a purpose, doing the good work.”
This year’s Bottoms Up Invitational tailgate and concert will take place on Sunday, September 14, followed by the golf tournament on Monday, September 15.
Back in December 2020, Melvin announced that Meadows had died at the age of 43 via Instagram. “We lost our older brother this week. Lawrence Meadows was a husband (to Angela, his childhood sweetheart), father (to Addie, 11 and Lawson, 7) Baptist minister, entrepreneur, and one of the best human beings you would’ve ever known,” he wrote. “Colon cancer robbed him and us of so much. He was diagnosed at 39. He died Wednesday at 43. He spent a fair amount of time over the past few years raising awareness about the disease. We’ll be keeping up that fight. We love you, bro.”
Over the years, Melvin has continued to highlight the importance of colorectal cancer screenings and awareness on Today. Back in March, Melvin designed a Today-themed hoodie and sock set for Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, which he wore on the show.
“In recognition of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month NBCUniversal will be making a donation in support of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance,” he shared in a March 4 Instagram post about the specialty items.
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