Rod Stewart has been named a recipient of a Spirit of Life award by the City of Hope National Medical Center, which will present the honor to the rock veteran during a gala event in New York on February 13.
Stewart plans to perform at the awards ceremony, slated for Cipriani on 42nd Street, and he will also be treated to special renditions of his songs by several of his Atlantic Records labelmates, including Jewel, Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath, Brandy and Hootie & the Blowfish's Darius Rucker.
Stewart, whose new album, Human, is due February 6, is receiving the Spirit of Life award in recognition of his various philanthropic work on behalf of the California medical center, which seeks to find the causes of and cures for such diseases as cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.
The singer has participated in several fund-raisers and benefit concerts on City of Hope's behalf, including the organization's annual celebration of National Friendship Day with patients from the facility.
Vogue magazine publisher Richard Beckman also will receive a Spirit of Life award at the event, which will serve as the official launch of the Fashion and Media Industry for the City of Hope, a campaign to heighten awareness about and raise money for the medical center's various research initiatives in New York.
For more information about the City of Hope and the Spirit of Life award, be sure to check out the organization's Web site at www.cityofhope.org.
