James Van Der Beek is receiving a helping hand from his friends as he battles stage 3 cancer.

On January 26, Paul Walter Hauser revealed his collaboration with Cameo to raise $20,000 by March 1. This initiative aims to support the 48-year-old Van Der Beek with his ongoing treatment expenses, especially after the Dawson’s Creek star began selling his personal memorabilia to manage costs.

“Seeing James Van Der Beek parting with items from his past acting roles to fund his colorectal cancer treatment didn’t sit right with me,” Hauser, 39, shared on Instagram. “As an actor and father of three, I imagine leaving my memorabilia for my kids, not auctioning off cherished items like a Stingray shirt or a Marvel script to afford treatment.”

The Marvel actor encouraged his followers to “spread the love” by promoting his cause, which includes creating personalized Cameo videos to offer financial support to Van Der Beek. Additionally, Hauser plans to auction off “personal items” donated by celebrity friends such as Josh Gad, Jimmy Kimmel, Beck Lynch, and many others to bolster their support for a fellow actor, father, and husband who has faced significant challenges in recent years.

In a bid to aid a worthy cause, James Van Der Beek is auctioning pieces from Dawson’s Creek. The 48-year-old actor has partnered with Propstore to sell wardrobe items, props, and set pieces from both Dawson’s Creek and his 1999 film Varsity Blues, as reported by People on November 11. These items will be available for auction at the upcoming event.

Hauser also got ahead of anyone who might question his motives by “arming” himself with “facts and receipts at the ready,” writing, “Before the Internet trolls wipe their saliva and attack their keyboards to question why I chose to raise money for this, and not something they deem worthy of time/efforts/funding, know that I’ve done stand up comedy for Relay for Life’s Cancer Charity Walk, I’ve donated my own earnings to organizations like Smile Train and Neighborly, and recently helped raise over $100,000 for ServeLA through my appearance on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.”

He concluded his announcement by saying he’s “always liked” Van Der Beek, who “seems like a really good dude. Let’s help him out in this difficult moment.”

Us Weekly has reached out to Van Der Beek for comment.

While the twosome have never worked together on screen, Hauser recalled “berating” Van Der Beek during a 2010 celebrity flag football game during a 2022 appearance on the Rich Eisen Show. Hauser remembered being in the audience and yelling, “I want to see some blood out there, son!” over and over at the Varsity Blues actor before getting a reply.

“And after the third time I shouted it, he turned around and he goes, ‘I’ll make you proud, dad.’ And it became a bit. We just went back and forth, it was very funny,” he said with a laugh.

Van Der Beek — who shares  Olivia, 14, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 11, Emilia, 8, Gwendolyn, 6, and Jeremiah, 3 with wife Kimberly — revealed his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis via Instagram in November 2024.

Later that month, he announced that he was selling limited editions of his famous Varsity Blues jersey for families dealing with cancer, noting that “100 percent of my net proceeds will go to families recovering from the financial burden of cancer (including my own).”

The following September, the Dawson’s Creek cast reunited for a live reading of the show’s pilot episode to raise money for F Cancer. Van Der Beek, however, was forced to drop out last minute due to a stomach virus. Michelle Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe and Busy Philipps were all still in attendance for the event, with Lin-Manuel Miranda stepping in for Van Der Beek in the title role of Dawson Leery.

“I can’t believe I’m not there,” Van Der Beek said in a prerecorded message played on stage. “I can’t believe I don’t get to hug my castmates, my beautiful cast, in person, and I just wanted to stand on that stage and thank every single person in this theater for being here tonight — from the cast to the crew to everybody who donated their time and has been so generous. And especially every single last one of you. You’re the best fans in the world. Thank you for coming.”

James Van Der Beek found a way to make a surprise — and rare — virtual appearance at the Dawson’s Creek cast reunion amid his cancer battle. Ahead of the Monday, September 22, live reading of the Dawson’s Creek pilot at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, Van Der Beek, 48, revealed he wouldn’t be […]

Two months later, Van Der Beek announced his partnership Propstore to auction off treasured pieces of his career memorabilia to help pay for his ongoing treatments. Sold items included the Dawson’s Creek necklace Dawson gifted Joey (Holmes) for prom, Dawson’s pilot episode outfit and other episodes from the beloved ‘90s series.

“While I have some nostalgia tugging at me as I part with these items, it feels good to be able to offer them through Propstore’s auction to share with those who have supported my work over the years,” he told the People at the time.

Van Der Beek ultimately raised $47,000 dollars during the three day event.