More than CAD $119 Million Pledged so far in U.S. and Canada in Connection with Sept 5 Stand Up To Cancer Fundraising Special

More than CAD $119 Million Pledged so far in U.S. and Canada in Connection with Sept 5 Stand Up To Cancer Fundraising Special

CAD $30 Million Pledged by Canadian Health Charities, Government-Funded
Organizations, Corporations and the Public

Inaugural SU2C Canada Dream Teams to Begin Research in Summer 2015

Stand Up To Cancer Telecast is Available Online at https://ca.celebrity.yahoo.com/video/stand-cancer-170000054.html

http://www.standup2cancer.ca | http://facebook.com/su2c.ca | Instagram: @SU2C_CA | Twitter: @SU2C_CA


TORONTO, Sept. 7, 2014 /CNW/ - More than CAD $119 million has been
pledged so far in connection with the star-studded September 5 Stand Up
To Cancer (SU2C) "roadblock" fundraising telecast in Canada and the
U.S., it was announced today. The CAD $30 million pledged in Canada
will be used by Stand Up To Cancer Canada (SU2C Canada) and in some
cases by collaborating organizations to support joint research efforts
utilizing the SU2C model and scientific oversight. Funds pledged by the
Canadian public during the telecast will stay in Canada to support the
creation of collaborative research teams, as well as education and
awareness programs conducted in Canada.



"We are enormously grateful to all of our donors and collaborators --
from the individual television viewer to large organizations, both in
Canada and the U.S. -- whose contributions made the telecast a huge
success," said Lisa Paulsen, EIF Canada Board Member and President &
CEO of The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the 501(c)(3)
non-profit organization that is a co-creator of the U.S.-based SU2C
initiative. "All this support, as well as the entertainment
communities -- both the stars who volunteered their talents and
broadcast and cable networks donating air time -- means so much to
cancer patients who can benefit from the SU2C approach to research."



For the first time, there was a Canada-inclusive co-broadcast of the
telecast, which aired simultaneously on all four major English-language
Canadian networks: CBC, City, CTV and Global, along with Canadian
services AMI, CHCH, CHEK, Fight Network, Gusto TV, Hollywood Suite and
TLN. The telecast also streamed live and remains available on Yahoo in
Canada.



The 2014 SU2C telecast was the first of its kind for Canada. EIF Canada,
a Canadian registered charity, utilizes the entertainment industry's
resources via SU2C Canada to engage the Canadian public, health
charities, government-funded agencies and corporations in these
efforts. EIF Canada's charitable registration number is 80550 6730
RR0001.



"Canadians have a generous spirit and we are a generous nation," said
Rona Ambrose, Canada's Minister of Health. "I congratulate the SU2C
initiative on their truly innovative approach to supporting cancer
research. I am pleased to stand with them and all Canadians who have
contributed to this collective effort to tackle this disease."



In the U.S. ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, along with ABC Family, American
Forces Network, AXS TV, Bravo, Cooking Channel, DIRECTV, Discovery Fit
& Health, E!, Encore, Encore Español, EPIX, ESPNEWS, FOX Sports 2, FXM,
HBO, HBO Latino, ION Television, LMN, Logo TV, MLB Network, National
Geographic Channel, Oxygen, Palladia, Pivot, SHOWTIME, Smithsonian
Channel, Starz, TNT and VH1 donated one hour of simultaneous
commercial-free primetime for the nationally televised fundraising
special on Friday, September 5, broadcast live from the Dolby Theatre
in Los Angeles. The show also streamed live on both Hulu and Yahoo, and
is still available on each.



As in 2012, the broadcast was executive produced by Gwyneth
Paltrow and Joel Gallen of Tenth Planet Productions in collaboration
with SU2C's production team.



In addition to Paltrow, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Camila Alves, Jennifer
Aniston, Kevin Bacon, Justin Bartha, Halle Berry, Jordana Brewster,
Pierce Brosnan, Steve Carell, Dane Cook, Bradley Cooper, Katie Couric,
Brittany Daniel, Amanda de Cadenet, Giada De Laurentiis, Zooey
Deschanel, Robert Downey, Jr., Ben Falcone, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Will
Ferrell, Josh Gad, Tony Goldwyn, Topher Grace, Dave Grohl, Kathryn
Hahn, Tony Hale, Jon Hamm, Angie Harmon, Mark Harmon, Neil Patrick
Harris, Marg Helgenberger, Anna Kendrick, Rob Lowe, Joe Manganiello,
Danny McBride, Melissa McCarthy, Matthew McConaughey, Maria Menounos,
Mike Myers, Olivia Munn, Matt Passmore, Italia Ricci, Rob Riggle, Mira
Sorvino, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Stiller, Emma Stone, Eric Stonestreet,
Alison Sweeney, Justin Theroux, Bree Turner, Sofia Vergara, Charlie
Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, and Ethan Zohn participated in the telecast,
as did MLB players Jose Bautista, Miguel Cabrera, Paul Goldschmidt,
Derek Jeter, Adam Jones, Jon Lester, Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout.
The Who; the Dave Matthews Band; Ariana Grande; and Lupe Fiasco with
Jennifer Hudson and Common delivered one-of-a-kind musical
performances.



Yahoo News Global Anchor Katie Couric, who is a co-founder of the
U.S.-based SU2C initiative, hosted an On-Stage Digital Lounge, where
participating actors and personalities stood the notion of the
traditional 'phone bank' on its head via "We're Calling You," reaching
out to supporters via social media and by making phone calls.



"We were thrilled with the way our celebrity ambassadors were able to
connect with supporters through the on-stage digital lounge and We're
Calling You campaign," said Pam Williams, and one of the producers of
the telecast, "and it continues to keep people engaged. In just a
24-hour period, the fun thank you video Katie Couric and Rob Riggle
sent to a supporter via the facebook Mentions Cube during the show was
viewed more than 130,000 times!"



Both #SU2C and #StandUpToCancer trended on Twitter throughout the U.S.
and Canada during the broadcast.



The show helps fund SU2C's groundbreaking approach to translational
research, accelerating the delivery of new therapies to patients by
getting them from the "bench to the bedside" as quickly as possible.
SU2C Canada brings together scientists from different disciplines
across various institutions to work collaboratively, rather than
competitively. All funds received from the Canadian general public
during the broadcast will be directed towards the creation of
collaborative research teams, as well as education and awareness
programs conducted in Canada.



Organizations collaborating with the SU2C Canada initiative include the
Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, with support from The Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC); the Canadian Cancer Society; the
Cancer Stem Cell Consortium, with funding from Genome Canada and the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research; the Ontario Institute for
Cancer Research; and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).
MasterCard and AstraZeneca Canada are the first Canadian corporate
supporters of SU2C Canada.



Executive Producer Gwyneth Paltrow, who lost her father Bruce to cancer
12 years ago, said, "The fight against this insidious disease is very
personal for me, as it is for so many of us. One in two men and one in
three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes, but when
we all stand together, we can change the odds. When we all stand
together, cancer doesn't stand a chance. That sense of community is
what the telecast is all about."



"It's a privilege to work with so many great names from the
entertainment community to rally the public around this cause," said
Gallen, who, in addition to serving as executive producer, also
directed the show. "But our goal was to remind everyone who the real
stars of this movement are the brilliant scientists finding new ways to
combat this disease, and the brave patients contending with it every
day."



The broadcast included inspiring stories of people living with cancer
who have directly benefited from the type of groundbreaking,
translational research that is encouraged and supported by SU2C.



Don Konantz of Vancouver, British Columbia, has been living with
prostate cancer since 2013. Don climbed the noted and grueling Grouse
Grind every morning before daily radiation treatments over an eight
week period. His optimism about the rapid development of new treatment
options for his disease motivated him to enter triathlon events,
including an upcoming 'Ironman' triathlon. Despite feeling he "had no
business" taking on such grueling physical challenges, "I started," he
said. "And it felt great."



Two out of five Canadians are expected to develop cancer in their
lifetimes. Every hour of every day, an estimated 22 Canadians will be
diagnosed with some type of cancer, and nine people will die from the
disease -- the leading cause of death in Canada. The SU2C research
model was founded on the belief that we are at a pivotal juncture with
the potential for transformative progress in cancer research because of
two trends: breakthroughs made in our understanding of the basic
science of cancer, and technological advances that enable us to
translate them into new treatments. Today's cancer researchers need
additional funding to fulfill the promise of life-saving discoveries,
and SU2C Canada engages the public to support their work.



It is expected that SU2C Canada, with input from the SU2C Canada
collaborators on the focus for inaugural dream team research, will
issue a Call for Ideas in Fall 2014 and the first Dream Teams will be
announced and begin their work in Summer 2015.



Research proposals will be reviewed by the SU2C Canada Scientific
Advisory Committee (CSAC), which will be composed of leading
researchers and co-chaired by Alan Bernstein, O.C., Ph.D., FRSC,
President and CEO of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research
(CIFAR), and Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute
Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and David H.
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.


About EIF Canada / Stand Up To Cancer Canada


EIF Canada, a Canadian registered charity (Reg. # 80550 6730 RR0001),
founded by the U.S.-based Entertainment Industry Foundation, was
established to conduct charitable programs in Canada addressing health
and other issues. Stand Up To Cancer Canada (SU2C Canada) is a program
of EIF Canada that raises funds to support collaborative research
teams, as well as education and awareness programs conducted in Canada.


About the U.S.-Based Stand Up To Cancer Initiative


Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of
research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now.
The U.S.-based SU2C program, part of the Entertainment Industry
Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established
in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry's resources
to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer
research, and to increase awareness about progress being made in the
fight against the disease.


About the Entertainment Industry Foundation


Stand Up To Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation
(EIF), the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that serves as the
collective philanthropy for the television and film businesses. EIF has
distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs
addressing critical health, education and social issues. For more
information, visit www.eifoundation.org.




SOURCE CTV

CTV

CONTACT: Stand Up To Cancer Canada
Jane Rubinstein - jrubinstein@standup2cancer.ca
516-993-0708


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