Last year’s Grammy hero Carlos Santana and R&B chanteuse Mary J. Blige will receive Rock the Vote’s 2001 Patrick Lippert Awards.
The prizes, to be handed out in an MTV-sponsored ceremony February 20 at L.A.’s House of Blues, honor musical artists who engage in community activism.
Santana will be honored for his efforts with the Milagro Foundation, a nonprofit group that supports improved education and healthcare for at-risk children and communities. Santana founded the group in 1998 with his wife, Deborah.
Rock the Vote tapped Blige for her efforts to support several charities, including Partnership for a Drug-Free America, the Million Family March, the Christopher Wallace Foundation and the Special Olympics.
The presentation will be hosted by model/MTV regular Tyrese and will include performances by alt-rock group the Foo Fighters, soul singer Jill Scott and roots rappers the Black Eyed Peas.
The Lippert awards are named after a former Rock the Vote president and youth-voting advocate who died in 1993 of AIDS-related pneumonia.