- www.cmw.net -
TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2012 /CNW/ - Canadian Music Week is pleased to announce Montreal band Simple Plan as the 2013 recipients of the Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award. The award - bestowed to the band in recognition of their global fundraising efforts and dedication to youth welfare, both individually and through the Simple Plan Foundation - will be presented at the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Awards gala on Thursday, March 21, 2013, at the Koolhaus in Toronto, as part of Canadian Music Week 2013.
"Simple Plan's worldwide success is a testament to their spirit and tenacity as one of this country's best and brightest bands," commented Gary Slaight, President and CEO of Slaight Communications. "These five guys from Montreal are truly inspiring with their dedication to give back to youth struggling with adulthood and youth living with illness. The creation of the Simple Plan Foundation very early in their career is a reflection of the connection they have with their audience and the world their fans live in. My father and I are delighted to present them with the Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award."
Members of Simple Plan - Pierre Bouvier, Jeff Stinco, Sebastien Lefebvre, David Desrosiers and Chuck Comeau - launched the Simple Plan Foundation in December 2005 as a means to give back to their community. Aware of the problems and struggles faced by teenagers, both through the connection to their fans and personal experiences, they believed the power of music could work as a tool in recovery, coping and helping to find a passion in life.
Since its auspicious beginning, the Simple Plan Foundation has assisted both young people in need and children facing life-threatening illness, raising and donating over $1 million to various youth-focused charities in Canada and around the world. Among them are Dans la rue, an organization that provides an innovative music program as a therapeutic tool for impoverished young people; CN's Miracle Match program supporting pediatric care; Make-a-Wish and Children's Wish Foundations, two organizations dedicated to bringing hope and joy to terminally ill children and teens; Le Garde-Manger Pour Tous, an organization promoting healthy feeding habits for the underprivileged; Leucan, offering support and accompaniment toward children with cancer and their families; as well as War Child Canada, Kids Help Phone, Fondation Portage, Fondation Les Auberges du Coeur, The Lighthouse - Children and Families, St-Justine Hospital, GRIS, The Montréal Children's Hospital and many more.
Aside from the Foundation, the band itself actively participates in numerous projects and initiatives, including Canadian relief efforts for Haiti, South East Asia and Japan; awareness campaigns for MADD (Mothers Against Drinking and Driving), RAAD (The Entertainment Industry's Voice for Road Safety), and Éduc'alcool against drinking and driving; Live 8 in support of world poverty; youth empowerment events such as We Day; and more recently MTV Exit in Vietnam in a stand against exploitation and human trafficking. With Sennheiser, the band brought the concert experience to hearing impaired children across Canada. In an exceptional benefit concert with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Simple Plan raised more than $300,000 in support of the Foundation and educational activities of the OSM.
"We are honored to receive the Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award," said Simple Plan band member Chuck Comeau. "We have been very privileged to have the chance to live all of our dreams thanks to our band. We are extremely grateful to all of our fans who have been supporting us for the last ten years and who are the main inspiration behind the Simple Plan Foundation. The Foundation is our way to give back and help young people who might not have had the same opportunities as us. It has been one of the most rewarding experience of our lives and we look forward to continue what we started for the rest of our career."
In efforts to sustain the foundation's mission, Simple Plan continues to draw from their reputation, directing $1 from every concert ticket sold on their 2012 tour as well as every new SP Crew fan club membership to the Foundation. The iTunes release of the single "Save You" in October 2008 saw net proceeds from each download sale distributed to cancer charities around the world. Penned in tribute to Bouvier's brother Jay, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma cancer at the age of 28, the song was accompanied by a video featuring such cancer survivors as Sharon Osbourne and Barenaked Ladies' Kevin Hearn. Earlier this year, Simple Plan partnered with Pro Hockey Life and Sher-Wood Hockey to create a limited edition Simple Plan hockey stick with all proceeds going back to the Simple Plan Foundation. Support to the Foundation is also recognized through a portion of proceeds from tour merchandise sales.
Most recently, members of Simple Plan and the Simple Plan Foundation announced their 5th benefit event, set to take place on November 18 at the Montreal Science Center as part of the Musik: From Sound to Emotion exhibition. Sale of tickets ($125 each) will go directly to support the Foundation while allowing fans and patrons the opportunity to meet the band, take part in an auction, and hear the band in an acoustic performance, all in celebration of their 10th anniversary.
While the connection to their fans has been felt by many lives around the world, it has also translated into a string of hits for Simple Plan, including "I'd Do Anything", "Addicted", "Perfect", and "When I'm Gone", as well as worldwide sales topping 7.5 million. With the release of Get Your Heart On! - their fourth studio album - Simple Plan continues to gain worldwide recognition, reaching gold status in Canada and spawning additional international hits with "Jetlag" and "Summer Paradise". A testament to their outstanding popularity, the band has been voted Favourite Canadian Band, an unprecedented five times by viewers of the MuchMusic Video Awards. Additional accolades also include a 2012 NRJ Music Award, the 2006 JUNO Fan Choice Award, and a 2005 Teen Choice Award.
Simple Plan follows previous Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award recipients Gary Slaight, Tom Cochrane, Denise Donlon, Sarah McLachlan, Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida.
Tickets for the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards gala dinner are available for purchase through the Canadian Music Week website at www.cmw.net.
ABOUT CANADIAN MUSIC WEEK:
Canadian Music Week is Canada's leading annual entertainment event dedicated to the expression and growth of the country's music, media and entertainment industries. Combining four information-intensive conferences; a trade exposition; a film festival; a comedy festival; four awards shows and the nation's largest New Music Festival - Canadian Music Fest - CMW spans a six-day period from March 19 to March 24, 2013 at the Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre Hotel and over 60 downtown Toronto venues, attracting participants from across the globe. For more information, visit www.cmw.net.
Image with caption: "Simple Plan (CNW Group/Canadian Music Week)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121018_C8194_PHOTO_EN_19553.jpg
SOURCE: Canadian Music Week
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