Stand Up and Shout
Raising More Than $450,000
All For Cancer Research
|
Stand Up and Shout Raising More Than $450,000 All For Cancer Research |
Some
good news from the music community this week as fans mark the first anniversary
of the passing of the legendary Ronnie James Dio.
The Ronnie James Dio "Stand Up And Shout" Cancer Fund, which
was founded in memory of the late singer who died in 2010, has raised over
$450,000 for cancer research.
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up & Shout Cancer Fund has teamed with The Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project (AEACP) to create one-of-a-kind guitars painted by the project’s elephants in Thailand to raise money and awareness for both organizations. Wendy Dio, president and founder of Stand Up & Shout, board chair Gloria Butler and medical director Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, along with legendary Black Sabbath/Heaven and Hell bassist Geezer Butler and world-renowned photographer Mark Weiss, are currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand, home to the AEACP, where the guitars are being painted.
The talented elephants of the Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project, whose paintings are now exhibited and sold in museums and galleries around the world and have been featured in National Geographic, are painting guitars graciously donated by The ESP Guitar Company. These painted guitars will be auctioned off with half of the proceeds going to AEACP and the other half going to SUAS.
The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund is a privately funded nonprofit organization dedicated to cancer prevention, research and education. It was founded in memory of the late singer who died in 2010. The organization is collecting additional guitars donated by celebrated musicians for a larger fund-raising auction later this year.
The AEACP is dedicated to saving the diminishing number of Asian Elephants and to raise public awareness of the plight of Asian Elephants. National Thai Elephant Day annually celebrates the importance of elephants a part of Thai culture and as part of their environment. Currently, there are between 3,000 and 4,000 elephants living in Thailand, half of which are domesticated.
Later this year, the fund will team up with auction house Christie's for a
guitar and bass auction in New York City, with all proceeds going to the fund.
Almost 100 instruments have already been donated, including guitars from many
superstars such as Eddie Van Halen, Slash, Aerosmith, Tony Iommi, Sting,
Metallica, Slayer and Geddy Lee of Rush.
Created by Ronnie's wife/manager Wendy, the Ronnie James Dio "Stand
Up And Shout" Cancer Fund is committed to the early detection and
prevention of cancer through facilitating access to medical screening and
medical educational programs. The fund supports programs designed to integrate
medical knowledge into local communities such as cancer screening programs,
education on nutrition in cancer prevention, exercise and overall wellness.
The goal of the fund is to reduce the risk of developing life-threatening
cancers by offering access to preventative medical services. Furthering the
commitment for patients to access to quality medical care related to cancer, the
fund seeks to assist families burdened by the cost of caring for loved ones with
cancer.
In March, Wendy Dio updated fans on some of the good work the fund is doing and
the causes they are helping to support, thanks to your donations.
“We just donated $100,000 to the T.J, Martell Foundation for Cancer,
AIDS and Leukemia research and have pledged $100,000 for the next 3
years!!!!,” said Wendy. “We have also donated $117,000 to the M.D.
Anderson Cancer Facility for Gastric Cancer, this is where Ronnie received
most of his Chemo research. We have pledged $117,000 for the next 3 years. We
donated $10,000 to the [Y&T bassist] Phil Kennemore Foundation and
unfortunately he passed away on January 7th from Lung Cancer.”
You can help by donating to the “Stand Up And Shout” Cancer Fund through a
link on Dio’s website here.
