Stand Up to Cancer

Biography

Stand Up to Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a charitable organization for the film and television industry that has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to health, education, and social issues. Led by a team including news anchor Katie Couric and former Paramount Pictures CEO Sherry Lansing, Stand Up to Cancer began in spring 2008 and raised money for funding innovative cancer research by staging the Stand Up to Cancer television special, which was broadcast commercial-free on ABC, NBC, and CBS on September 5, 2008, and by releasing the single "Just Stand Up," which debuted late that summer. The television special featured celebrities such as Heroes' Masi Oka, Angie Harmon, Mekhi Phifer, and Jimmy Fallon taking donations via phone and discussing cancer prevention, and included a performance of "Just Stand Up." The single was produced by Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and L.A. Reid, and was sung by over a dozen leading female vocalists, including Beyoncé, Carrie Underwood, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Rihanna, Natasha Bedingfield, and Miley Cyrus. By September 7, 2008, Stand Up to Cancer had raised over 100 million dollars; the program enlisted the help of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) to determine how to allocate those funds to cancer researchers. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide