Stand Up To Cancer's Sept. 5 fundraising telecast generated over $109 million in pledges from the U.S. and Canada.
Celebrities, corporate and organizational donors, philanthropists, government entities, charities, volunteers and the general public came together last Friday to battle cancer. Stars performed, spoke and expressed their own personal or family struggles. All funds raised are earmarked for collective research using SU2C’s oversight.
Many networks donated one hour of commercial-free television, for the special program on Sept. 5: ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, along with ABC Family, American Forces Network, AXS TV, Bravo, Cooking Channel, DirecTV, Discovery Fit & Health, E!, Encore, Encore Espanol, 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 all were involved in helping spread awareness.
A Canada-inclusive co-broadcast was also aired for the first time, together with the fundraising event, on Canadian networks, CBC, City, CTV and Global.
“We are enormously grateful to all of our donors and collaborators – from the individual television viewer to large organizations, both in the U.S. and Canada – whose contributions made the telecast a huge success,” said Lisa Paulsen, chief executive officer of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization of which SU2C is a part, and one of the co-founders of SU2C.
Noted Gwyneth Paltrow, who lost her father to cancer a dozen years and served as the event's executive producer: “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 in the United States 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.”
Among the notables who participated: 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. Musical performances by The Who, the Dave Matthews Band, Ariana Grande, Lupe Fiasco with Jennifer Hudson and Common also aired.
SU2C thrives on a distinctive approach to research, where scientists from different practices and institutions work collaboratively, as opposed to competitively. New therapies and methods are presented for a wide range of cancer types, and 100 percent of U.S. donations from the general public go to these programs. Canadian general public donations go towards research teams and awareness programs in Canada.
From 112 institutions in six countries, SU2C now has more than 800 of the best scientists working to fight cancer, and 140 clinical trials with over 5,700 patients have been completed by funded researchers.
Donations are still being accepted in the U.S., through SU2C or by calling1-888-90-STAND (78263). The show can also be viewed on Hulu. or Yahoo.
