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SAMUEL L. JACKSON APPEARS IN
NEW PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN FOR
ST. BALDRICK’S FOUNDATION AND STAND UP TO
CANCER
New Campaign to Raise Awareness in the Fight
Against Childhood Cancers
St.
Baldrick’s Foundation and Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) will
unveil a new print and broadcast public service announcement
featuring actor Samuel L. Jackson. The PSA, entitled “In
Play,” is designed to increase awareness about childhood
cancers and the critical importance for infants and
children, and in particular teens and young adults with
childhood cancers, to be treated by pediatric oncologists.
Survival for teens and young adults is far greater when
treated on pediatric cancer protocols.
The campaign will also highlight the need to support the
best pediatric cancer research that will deliver cures and
better treatments with fewer harsh side-effects and
long-term complications for survivors. Each year, more than
175,000 children are diagnosed with cancer worldwide, and in
the U.S., cancer is the number one disease killer of
children. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation and SU2C are working
to change those statistics.
“When I was a child in the 1950s, most kids who got
diagnosed with cancer had little chance of survival. Now,
there is hope,” said the Academy Award-nominated Jackson. “I
am honored to join Stand Up To Cancer and the St. Baldrick’s
Foundation to help educate people about childhood cancer and
the importance of seeing a pediatric oncologist.” Samuel L.
Jackson is an award-winning actor and film producer. He has
appeared in more than 100 movies and is the highest grossing
film actor in history. His movie credits include such
blockbusters as Pulp
Fiction, The
Avengers, Die Hard with a Vengeance, The
Incredibles and
the Star Wars prequel
trilogy, among others.
“Samuel L. Jackson is a powerful actor and has played some
seriously tough guys,” said Kathleen Ruddy, chief executive
officer of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. “It seems very
fitting that we have someone with his level of intensity and
power speaking out against childhood cancers, which are
seriously tough diseases. We are grateful to him for
getting the message out that childhood cancer patients –
even those who are teens and young adults – must be seen by
pediatric cancer specialists for the best chance at
survival.”
Jackson is joined in the PSA by four St. Baldrick’s Honored
Kids, all of whom have had – or are still fighting --
cancer. Along with their families, they serve as advocates
to raise awareness for childhood cancer and the critical
need for research funding, bringing hope and inspiration to
countless St. Baldrick’s volunteers and supporters. The
Honored Kids who appear in the PSA are Avery, 10, who’s
stable; Aiden, 11, who’s currently cancer-free; William, 14;
and Julia, 19, who are both in remission.
SU2C President and CEO, Sung Poblete added: “We are grateful
to Samuel L. Jackson for lending his support to this
extremely important campaign. While great progress has been
made in the battle against childhood cancer, the sad fact
remains that one in five children diagnosed in the U.S. will
not survive. Through the creation of the St. Baldrick’s-Stand
Up to Cancer Dream Team, we are making progress in the fight
against childhood cancer research.”
Earlier this year, SU2C and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation
announced the formation of a Dream Team dedicated to
childhood cancer research. The SU2C-St. Baldrick’s Pediatric
Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant will provide
$14.5 million in funding over four years for this innovative
project that is uniting researchers in two highly productive
disciplines of translational pediatric cancer research that
historically functioned independently – genomics and
immunotherapeutics.
The Dream Team is led by John M. Maris, M.D., director of
the Childhood Cancer Research at The Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia; and Crystal L. Mackall, M.D., chief of the
Pediatric Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute
(NCI) in Bethesda, MD.
Researchers on this Dream Team represent seven institutions:
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, The National Cancer
Institute (NCI), the University of British Columbia, Baylor
College of Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children in
Toronto, Seattle’s Children’s Hospital and the University of
Wisconsin. While researchers at the NCI, part of the federal
government’s National Institutes of Health, will be
participating fully as members of the Dream Team, in
accordance with policy, no funds from the grant are going to
the NCI.
The joint venture between the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the
leading non-governmental provider of childhood cancer
research grants, and SU2C, formed in 2008 to accelerate
innovative cancer research, has brought together two of the
world’s leading cancer research fundraising groups.
Formation of the team, the first SU2C Dream Team focused
solely on pediatric cancer research, will help fulfill the
mission of both organizations to fund the most promising
childhood cancer research that will ultimately enable
survivors to lead long and healthy lives.
To learn more, visit http://www.standup2cancer.org/pediatrics or www.stbaldricks.org/inplay.
To join the conversation like us on Facebook at @StandUpToCancer
or @StBaldricksFoundation or follow us on Twitter at @SU2C
or @StBaldricks.
# # #
About Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer – an initiative of the Entertainment
Industry Foundation, a non-profit organization – began in
the USA in 2008 with a landmark telecast on the ABC, CBS and
NBC networks. The third U.S.-based telecast was broadcast on
ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and 22 cable networks on Sept. 7, 2012.
Internationally, in addition to the Netherlands, Stand Up To
Cancer launched in the United Kingdom with a four-hour live
televised fundraiser on Channel 4 in collaboration with
Cancer Research U.K. on Oct. 17, 2012.
Stand Up To Cancer raises funds to hasten the pace of
groundbreaking translational research that can get new
therapies to patients quickly and save lives. SU2C marshals
the resources of the media and entertainment industries in
the fight against this disease. Current members of the SU2C
Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) include Talk Show
Host, Journalist and well-known Cancer Advocate Katie Couric;
Sherry Lansing, Chairperson of the Entertainment Industry
Foundation’s Board of Directors and Founder of the Sherry
Lansing Foundation; EIF President and CEO Lisa Paulsen; EIF
Senior Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Rusty Robertson and Sue
Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; Pamela Oas
Williams, President of Laura Ziskin Productions and
Executive Producer of Stand Up To Cancer’s In-house
Production Team, and Nonprofit Executive Ellen Ziffren. All
current members of the CFA were co-producers of the 2012
televised special. The late co-founder Laura Ziskin
executive produced both the Sept. 5, 2008, and Sept. 10,
2010, broadcasts. SU2C was formally launched on May 27,
2008. Sung Poblete, Ph.D., R.N., has served as SU2C’s
president and CEO since 2011.
SU2C’s “Dream Team” approach to funding translational cancer
research enables scientists from different disciplines at
research centers across the country and internationally to
collaborate on projects geared toward getting new, less
toxic treatments to patients as quickly as possible. Monies
also support innovative cancer research projects that are
often deemed “too risky” by conventional funding sources.
One hundred and one institutions are currently involved. As
SU2C’s scientific collaborator, the American Association for
Cancer Research, led by a prestigious SU2C Scientific
Advisory Committee, provides scientific oversight, expert
review of the research projects and grants administration.
For more information, visit
www.standup2cancer.org
About St. Baldrick’s Foundation
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity
committed to funding the most promising research to find
cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and
healthy lives. St. Baldrick’s coordinates its signature
head-shaving events worldwide where participants collect
pledges to shave their heads in solidarity with kids with
cancer, raising money to fund research. Since 2005, St.
Baldrick’s has awarded more than $127 million to support
lifesaving research, making the Foundation the largest
private funder of childhood cancer research grants. St.
Baldrick’s funds are granted to some of the most brilliant
childhood cancer research experts in the world and to
younger professionals who will be the experts of tomorrow.
Funds awarded also enable hundreds of local institutions to
participate in national pediatric cancer clinical trials,
and the new International Scholar grants train researchers
to work in developing countries. For more information about
the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or
visit
www.StBaldricks.org
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