For immediate release
September 8, 2015
ROVEENA
PARTNERS WITH LYMPHOMA CANADA &
LAUNCHES MUSIC VIDEO ON WORLD LYMPHOMA DAY
SEPTEMBER 15, 2015
Songstress Roveena has chosen to use the wonderful gift of her voice to raise support and awareness for those, such as her father, who suffer with Lymphoma . As such, she is honoured to announce her partnership as brand ambassador with Lymphoma Canada, a non-profit organization that focuses on bringing awareness to Lymphoma and support to families who are affected by its often devestating effects.
This year on World Lymphoma Awareness Day, September 15, 2015, Roveena will be releasing her latest music video to commemorate those affected by the 5th most common cancer in Canada. She says:
“When my family and I were blindsided by my Dad’s diagnosis of Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – I knew I had to speak up and lend my voice to this cause. We are quickly building momentum by raising awareness of Lymphoma, starting with World Lymphoma Awareness Day when we will launch my new music video ‘Love Will Light the Way’ which features current patients and survivors of Lymphoma! I am excited for this release!”
‘Love Will Light the Way’ will be available on Roveena’s website: http://www.roveena.ca/, as well as Lymphoma Canada’s site: http://www.lymphoma.ca/
Roveena and her family have experienced a rather nomadic life, living in Sri Lanka, the U.K., and Nigeria prior to settling in Canada in the mid ’80s. She is now a passionately proud Canadian, declaring that she chose the album title “because Perfect World is a good reflection of what my life is, being an immigrant in this country. I live a duality, but I now identify myself as a Canadian first.”
She comes from a musically-oriented family, and was singing almost from the cradle. “My parents have audio tapes of me singing along to ABBA songs at 18 months,” Roveena laughingly recalls. Growing up, she frequently dazzled listeners at family events and community concerts and also became proficient as a pianist.
She studied classical piano and composition as an undergraduate at The University of Waterloo, but chose to pursue a career in human resources. Her love of music never diminished, however, and she began posting YouTube videos of performances of cover songs. That led to a genuinely life-changing moment when Toronto’s CITY TV invited Roveena to perform on their Breakfast Show. “They’d seen the video of my singing ‘At Last’ at the CNE and asked me on to sing as part of their YouTube week,” she recalls. She so stunned host Kevin Frankish with the power of her
voice that a planned one minute segment turned into eight minutes, an appearance that would launch Roveena’s career. “Everything snowballed from that point,” she says. “Within minutes of finishing, the station forwarded 50 e-mails asking where they could see me or buy a CD. That plucked me out of obscurity.” She was quickly invited to sing the national anthems at Blue Jays and NFL games, and a placing in the Top 10 on the singing competition show TVI’s Superstar boosted her profile in the South Asian community, both in Canada and internationally.
Roveena will also be performing at Lymphoma Canada’s Take It to the Mat event Sunday, November 15, 2015, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Glenn Gould Studio and Barbara Frum Atrium.
“The inaugural event exceeded all of our expectations with over 200 people in attendance to help raise $150,000 in support of patients with lymphoma and their families.” said Robin Markowitz, chief executive officer, Lymphoma Canada. “take it to the mat 2015 will be a memorable day of healing, inspiration, energy and transformation as participants gather together in downtown Toronto to practice yoga or meditate and learn about how happiness can improve well-being, while championing an important cause.”
Robin Markowitz, CEO of Lymphoma Canada says:
“We are honoured to have Roveena as the Brand Ambassador for Lymphoma Canada. As the daughter of a father with lymphoma, she has an intimate understanding of how lymphoma affects the whole family. Her beautiful voice coupled with her passion to raise awareness and educate the public about lymphoma will further our reach. We are touched by her powerful videos and look forward to future collaborations. Roveena’s support further enable us to achieve our mission of empowering patients and the lymphoma community through education, support, and research.”
And now Roveena is lighting the way toward finding a cure for Lymphoma!
For more information about Lymphoma Canada, please contact:
Charlene Ragin
Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Lymphoma Canada
Phone 905.858.5967 x 222
Email: Charlene@lymphoma.ca
ROVEENA
PARTNERS WITH LYMPHOMA CANADA &
LAUNCHES MUSIC VIDEO ON WORLD LYMPHOMA DAY
SEPTEMBER 15, 2015
Further information contact:
Jane Harbury 416.960.1568 jane@harbury.ca
Sarah Gardiner 416.960.1568 sarah@harbury.ca
