The 2013 Young Hollywood Awards, which celebrates the best emerging young talent in film, music and television, has announced that Teen Cancer America is its official charity.
Teen Cancer America assists hospitals nationwide in the development of cancer units designed to give patients ages 13-24 positive physical and emotional outlooks. Cody Simpson, along with Olympic skating gold medalist Tara Lipinski, are two of Teen Cancer America’s celebrity ambassadors and are participating in the Awards show, which will air on Thursday, August 1 from 8 – 10 p.m. ET/PT on the CW Network and will emanate from the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA.
Aisha Tyler (“Whose Line Is it Anyway?” “The Talk”) is the host of the 2013 Young Hollywood Awards. Previously announced honorees for the star-studded red carpet awards include Dave Franco (“Now You See Me”), recording artist and actress Selena Gomez, rising singer-songwriter Austin Mahone and pop sensation Cody Simpson, who will also perform on the telecast. Also, announced presenters for this year’s show include appearances by Nat Faxon (“The Way, Way Back”), Derek Hough (“Dancing with the Stars”), Alyssa Milano (“Mistresses”), Ian Somerhalder (“The Vampire Diaries”) and Aimee Teegarden (“Aim High”).
In 2012, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend launched Teen Cancer America to improve the quality of life for teens and young adults with cancer by partnering with hospitals to create facilities, develop support programs and raise awareness during treatment. Teen Cancer America is building on over 22 years of experience from the renowned UK charity, Teenage Cancer Trust. Young people with cancer are traditionally treated alongside children or adult patients causing young people to feel extremely isolated during treatment. There is a significant difference in the patient’s experience when they are treated alongside others their own age. In addition to state-of-the-art facilities to keep patients occupied during long stays in the hospital, the units strive to provide an environment where teenage patients can meet others in a similar situation, helping to support their transition. With over 70,000 adolescent young adults being diagnosed with cancer each year in the US, the medical community understands why the work that Teen Cancer America aims to do is so important. Cody Simpson visited Teen Cancer America’s first US facility at UCLA this year and signed on to be a celebrity ambassador. Cody is receiving the 2013 Young Hollywood Award “Role Model Award” on the August 1 show which will be presented to him by Tara Lipinski.
“Teenagers are not children, they are not adults – if they are unfortunate enough to get cancer, they tend to suffer some of the most aggressive cancers. It is the quality of life that we should be worrying about – not just the cure,” commented Roger Daltrey.
“Cancer is a horrible disease that will touch nearly everyone in their lifetime, whether it is witnessing a friend or loved one fight the battle or actually fighting it themselves. I have personally watched people close to me embark on this difficult fight and it has affected me profoundly. What Teen Cancer aims to do is bring teens together so they don’t have to fight alone. It’s a privilege to be a part of this organization,” commented Cody Simpson.
Since its inception, the Young Hollywood Awards has served as a launch pad for the future careers of many of today’s top actors, directors and entertainers. The list of previous Young Hollywood Awards recipients and presenters include names such as Scarlett Johansson, Armie Hammer, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Swift, Ryan Gosling, Zac Efron, Justin Bieber, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dakota Fanning, Jessica Alba, Liam Hemsworth, Ashley Greene, Emma Stone, Nick Jonas, Mila Kunis and Shia LaBeouf, among many others. For additional information, visit www.yhawards.com.
