A press conference for the upcoming Juno Awards took place today in Ottawa, Canada and the members of Simple Plan were there to help with a special announcement – all that despite the fact that they weren’t nominated for any category at Juno Awards this year. Have no worries though – it seems like Simple Plan will be getting an award at the Juno Awards after all. A very valuable one.
It has been revealed on the press conference that Simple Plan will be in fact the recipients of 2012’s Allan Waters Humanitarian Award, which is annually given to that Canadian artist, whose humanitarian contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada that year.
Simple Plan will be receiving this award because of the foundation they started in 2005 – the Simple Plan Foundation, which helps young people in need and through which Simple Plan try to inspire people to pursue their dreams. According to Lynn Saxberg, Canadian music writer, Simple Plan are the youngest Humanitarian Award winners in the history of this award. Previous recipients of this award were for example Neil Young and Bryan Adams.
“Words cannot express how grateful we are to be the recipients of this award,” said Simple Plan’s drummer Chuck Comeau. “To be recognized by CARAS and the JUNO Awards is a true honour for us. As a band we have been very fortunate to receive the constant support of our fans, which has allowed us to continue doing what we love for the last ten years. Because of that, we believe that it is extremely important for us to give back, and the Simple Plan Foundation is our way to do this. We are very proud of all of our Foundation’s initiatives — they have helped to define us as a band and have become a large part of who we are. There is no question that the Simple Plan Foundation will continue to grow and that we will be able to help our communities for many years to come.”
“We are thrilled to be recognizing Simple Plan’s charitable achievements and dedication to youth welfare with this honour. Their ongoing commitment to philanthropy and their Foundation is tremendous, and we salute them for all of their exceptional work,” Melanie Berry, the Juno Awards’ president and CEO, said about Simple Plan.
Juno Awards will be taking place on April 1st 2012 but according to the press release, the members of Simple Plan will be receiving this award the day before, on March 31st at the 2012 JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards in Ottawa, Canada.
It was announced that Simple Plan will be attending the “Fan Fare” on March 31st during the Juno week at St. Laurent Mall, Ottawa.
Make sure to check out the first pictures from the press conference in the gallery.
Congratulations Simple Plan! The award was very well-deserved!
