The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) announced today that Javier Colon, winner of NBC's The Voice, will join the lineup of featured artists performing a tribute concert celebrating music industry icon Stevie Wonder at the MMRF Fall Gala, to be held October 29, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. The MMRF will honor Stevie Wonder with the MMRF Spirit of Hope Award, presented annually to individuals who inspire hope with their perseverance in overcoming personal obstacles. All funds raised at the Gala will support the development of next-generation treatments for multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer.
In August 2011, Javier Colon was nominated for the Teen Choice Awards Breakout Artist of the Year following his June 2011 win on the inaugural season of NBC's The Voice. Colon, who grew up in Connecticut's Fairfield County, formerly performed as lead singer for The Derek Trucks Band and EmCQ, a neo-funk group dedicated to the legacy of Stevie Wonder among others. Colon's debut album with Universal Republic Records is slated for a November 2011 launch. As previously announced, Michael McDonald and Darius Rucker will also perform at the MMRF Fall Gala as featured artists in the tribute concert to Stevie Wonder.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to participate with Michael McDonald and Darius Rucker in this tribute concert for Stevie Wonder," said Colon. "The MMRF is one of the nation's most groundbreaking cancer research organizations and I hope that our involvement will help find a cure for this rare cancer."
The MMRF has facilitated unprecedented accomplishments such as helping to bring four new myeloma drugs to market, more than doubling the patient life expectancy post-diagnosis, opening 32 clinical trials 60% faster than industry standard in oncology, and sequencing the multiple myeloma genome. The four treatments the MMRF helped accelerate are now standard therapies for patients with multiple myeloma and are being used or explored as treatments for more than 30 other cancers.
Despite the advancements made by the MMRF, the five year survival rate for myeloma remains one of the lowest of all cancers. The funds raised by the MMRF are critical in continuing to advance research and the progress being made.
"We are so thankful to have Javier Colon, Michael McDonald and Darius Rucker joining us," said Kathy Giusti, Founder and CEO of the MMRF and a myeloma patient. "The support of these talented musicians will help the MMRF continue our urgent work to bring patients new treatments."
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