Actor Rob Lowe and model Cindy Crawford man the phones during Stand Up To Cancer at Sony Pictures Studios on Sept. 10, 2010, in Culver City, Calif. (Getty Images)
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"Stand up to Cancer," the hour-long telethon carried by all four TV networks, got off the ground Friday night with A-list stars such as George Clooney, appearing on camera to support the money-raising effort.
Network news anchors Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams reported on cutting-edge cancer research that has been financed by the effort since its start in 2008.
.The SU2C initiative so far has raised more than $100 million. In addition to the thousands of individuals who have made donations through the website and via phone, donors have included Major League Baseball which made a $10 million commitment and actively encourages fans to support SU2C, Amgen, Bloomberg Philanthropies, GlaxoSmithKline, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and Revlon.
So far, the initiative has spent $83.5 million to fund 13innovative scientists and five Dream Teams for a 3-year period. In all more than 200 researchers at 50 institutions will benefit.