Grammy Award winner David Foster gets and drops key to city

Musicianand philanthropist David Foster is the first person to receive a key to the City of Winnipeg since Brian Bowman was elected mayor two years ago.

At a ceremony outside city hall, Bowman handed theVictoria, B.C.-born composer, producer and songwriter an award to recognize decades of promoting the need fororgan donation as well as toraise the profile of a fundraising concert slated for Saturday at MTS Centre.

David Foster gets key to the city

8 years ago

Duration 1:41

Musician and philanthropist David Foster is the first person to receive a key to the City of Winnipeg since Brian Bowman was elected mayor two years ago.

Foster has received 16 Grammy Awards and three Academy Award nominations for best original song. He has produced albums for a range of famous artists, includingWhitney Houston, Rod Stewart, Natalie Cole, Cline Dion, and Josh Groban.

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Foster, 66,said he took up organ donationas a cause approximately 30 years ago, after his mother asked him to visit an ill child.

"Thirty years ago, if you needed a transplant, you had to leave Canada and visit America to get it done," said Foster, who subsequently built an endowment fund that supports the families of people who need organ transplants.

That fund now stands at approximately $25 million, he said. He hopes to raise another $50 million to allow even more proceeds to benefit families of people in need of transplants.

"We're not there yet, but we're getting there," he said, adding it's even more important for Canadians to sign up to be organ donors.

Bowmanurged Winnipeggersto do so by visiting Signupforlife.ca. The mayor said he waited to hand out a key to city until he found "somebody who's really making a difference" in Winnipeg as well as Canada as a whole.

"It's not only fun, but it's also appropriate, given the work that David is doing," Bowman said.

Afterreceiving his award, Foster raised it above his head in jubilation, only to see the key fall from its frame and hit the ground.

"It's made from metal," Bowman quipped.

Foster, who lives in Los Angeles,later joked he would use that key to enter Winnipeg homes.