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Many people get behind causes and charities and musicians are often asked to become spokespeople, "ambassadors" or simply perform at a fundraising event when they reach even a modicum of success. When Montreal's Simple Plan had sold close to 4 million albums worldwide, the pop-rock band felt it could not only launch its own foundation but keep it going year after year.

"It was actually a friend's idea and it was right before a big Canadian tour," singer Pierre Bouvier tells Samaritanmag. "Most of the shows were if not sold out, then close to it. There was a friend of ours that said, ‘You have to start a foundation because once you're in there and you have all these venues that are already taking percentages, if everybody cuts a little bit off their percentage, and puts it into this, we can raise a lot of money and make an impact and from there.'"

Drummer Chuck Comeau remembers it being his parents', André Comeau and Françoise Talbot, idea.

"The Foundation was started in 2005," he tells Samaritanmag in a recent email. "We were receiving thousands of letters from fans sharing with us some very sad and tragic stories and telling us how much our music was helping them deal with their difficult situations. We wanted to do something more than just write songs for them so my parents suggested that we should start our very own foundation to give back and help young people in need. The band was into the idea right away and the Simple Plan Foundation was born."