2nd edition of the Pat Burns Award: Public celebrity Ale Dee accepts role of spokesman and Femme de ma vie selected as theme song! Français
MONTREAL, Nov. 21, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Coalition Priorité Cancer du Québec is pleased to announce that Quebec rapper Alexandre Duhaime, aka Ale Dee, has agreed to be the public celebrity spokesman for the 2nd edition of the Pat Burns Award. As a result, he joins Jason Burns, president and official spokesman of the Pat Burns Award, in supporting his efforts to promote the essential role of informal caregivers in Quebec's battle against cancer.
"Ale Dee and I share significant common ground: we are or have been informal caregivers for a loved one suffering from cancer. I am pleased to welcome him aboard the Pat Burns Award team and I trust this new partnership will enable us to make more people aware of the challenges faced by informal caregivers, as well as the courage they need and the crucial role they play in the battle against cancer," states Award president and official spokesman Jason Burns.
Presented annually, the Pat Burns Award pays tribute to people who, as informal caregivers, have distinguished themselves through the quality of the support they have provided to someone with cancer. The names of the main recipient and two runners-up will be officially revealed during the Pat Burns Award presentation ceremony scheduled to take place in Montreal on April 11 and 12, as part of the 5th National Conference to Defeat Cancer.
The main recipient will be awarded $5,000 and the runners-up will each receive $2,500 for a total award of $10,000.
Ale Dee: an artist committed to the battle against cancer
With career sales of 15,000 albums, 8 million hits on YouTube and 8 videoclips that have all made it to top of the MusiquePlus chart, this author and composer from Trois-Rivières is also a caregiver for his cancer-stricken mother. Ale Dee is highly aware of the crucial role that caregivers play in the battle against cancer: "I am proud to join Jason Burns and his team, as I have always felt that recognizing the value of informal caregivers is an important aspect of the battle against cancer. And even more so now that I am myself such a caregiver," states Ale Dee. "Though we are many kilometres apart, I try to be there for my mother as often as possible. Whether it be in person when I can, or over the phone and via email when I am on the road, I always do my utmost to help her through this bitter ordeal and chat with her by every means available, whatever the circumstances".
Furthermore, the song Femme de ma vie, borrowed from Ale Dee's repertoire, written by the artist as a tribute to his mother and first presented during the 4th National Conference to Defeat Cancer last March in Montreal, will now be recognized as the official Pat Burns Award theme song. "I wrote this song for her to express everything I hadn't managed to say before. A gift from a son to his mother, a token of appreciation for all the sacrifices she had to make for me. To tell her how important she is to me. To tell her she is the woman of my life," adds Ale Dee.
Incidentally, this song's videoclip remained at the top of the Musique Plus chart for 8 weeks and tugged at the heartstrings of many people dealing directly or indirectly with cancer.
Proposing someone as a candidate for the 2nd edition of the Pat Burns Award
Residents of Quebec are invited to propose an outstanding individual as a candidate for the Pat Burns Award, no later than January 31, 2013 at midnight.
To review the eligibility criteria and full contest details, and to look at the Jason Burns and Ale Dee videos on the Pat Burns Award Website, visit www.prixpatburns.com
About Coalition Priorité Cancer au Québec
Coalition Priorité Cancer au Québec was founded in 2001 to protect and give a voice to people affected by cancer (patients, survivors, informal caregivers and their families), to support cancer-related community organizations and health professionals, and to help organize the fight against cancer. Thanks to the many organizations and individuals in its ranks, the Coalition's has close to 1.5 million members.
SOURCE: Coalition Priorité Cancer au Québec
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