Press Releases
ATLANTA – March 8, 2011 – The American Cancer Society, the official sponsor of birthdays, today announced that Celine Dion, along with singers Kylie Minogue and Ricky Martin are the latest to join the worldwide movement for more birthdays by generously donating their time and talent to sing their own special renditions of the “Happy Birthday” song. The A-list trio joins an impressive and diverse group of some of the world’s most popular artists, such as Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Lady Antebellum, in support of the work the American Cancer Society is doing to save lives from cancer. Celine Dion’s “Happy Birthday” video will debut on Sunday’s broadcast of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, and represents the first time the charity has advertised during the prestigious television event. Ms. Dion will be a familiar sight to viewers, as she has performed at the awards ceremony more than any other singer. Ricky Martin and Kylie Minogue’s videos will run through the end of March. The latest videos from movement artists can be seen and shared with friends at morebirthdays.com/NewHeadliners.
“With 11 million cancer survivors celebrating another birthday this year, there is clearly a lot of progress being made in the fight against cancer,” said 5-time Grammy Award-winning Celine Dion. “But it is imperative that we don’t stop there and that we all lend our voices to organizations like the American Cancer Society to help them continue in the fight to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays.”
The new phase of the more birthdays movement launched in September of 2010 with dozens of the biggest names in music and art coming together to work toward a world with more birthdays. The new videos submitted by Celine Dion, Kylie Minogue and Ricky Martin were each inspired by different facets of the American Cancer Society’s lifesaving work, including:
- The American Cancer Society gives free lodging and support for cancer patients in treatment
- The American Cancer Society has been part of nearly every cancer research breakthrough
- American Cancer Society volunteers drive thousands of cancer patients to treatment
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“For nearly 100 years the American Cancer Society has worked to save lives, and today, 350 birthdays are being celebrated that would have been otherwise lost to cancer, thanks in part to the progress we are making,” said Greg Donaldson, national vice president, corporate communications. “It is our hope that our collaboration with artists like Celine, Kylie and Ricky will inspire the public to join us and to move us closer to a world where cancer never steals another year of anyone’s life.”
Other artists and musicians featured in the campaign include Rihanna, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Justin Bieber, Usher, Jack Johnson, Andrew Bannecker, Masha D’Yans and many more. Others continue to join every day. To lend support, individuals can purchase gift wrap, posters and limited edition prints featuring the art at morebirthdays.com, and can also send family and friends birthday wishes through personalized e-cards and musician phone calls.
To learn more about and join the movement for more birthdays, visit morebirthdays.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
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About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.5 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Andrew Becker, American Cancer Society
212-237-3899 or andrew.becker@cancer.org
Becky Erwin, Brodeur Partners
617-834-4506 or berwin@brodeur.com