Look To The Stars News: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children

Jodie Kidd To Hold Charity Golf Tournament

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:30:00 -0000

British model Jodie Kidd is hosting her second annual charity golf tournament on July 21.

The event, which is to take place at the legendary Goodwood estate in West Sussex, will raise money for the Jodie Kidd Foundation – an umbrella organization the model established in 2007 to satisfy her overwhelming desire to help the charities she supports.

Last year’s event raised over $200,000 for three charities: the Monsoon Accessorize Trust, which assists disadvantaged children in South Asia; the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and Greatwood, specialists in the rehabilitation of injured and neglected horses. All three charities will also benefit from this year’s tournament.

Last year’s tournament attracted a large number of celebrities, including Ronan Keating, Pat Cash, Jimmy Tarbuck, and James Nesbitt. The 2008 lineup will be announced soon.

For more information on how to participate, visit www.thejodiekiddfoundation.co.uk, or email Emma Gragson at info@thejodiekiddfoundation.co.uk.

Celebrities' Big Wardrobes Emptied For Charity

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:52:58 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Shoppers will have the chance to rummage through the wardrobes of some of Britain’s biggest celebrities next month when a new online auction hits the web.

Stars such as the Kaiser Chiefs, Peaches Geldof, Paul Weller, Jodie Kidd, Jo Whiley, Jodie Marsh, and Russell Brand are cleaning out their wardrobes in the name of charity, giving visitors of www.bigwardrobe.com the chance to own some celebrity threads. The big-hearted celebrities have chosen a range of charities that the proceeds of the auction, which launches on May 1, will go to – including Refuge, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and Marie Curie Cancer Care to name just a few.

Online shoppers can browse through dresses, jeans, and tops donated by Peaches Geldof, and the pink top worn by Jodie Marsh on her eviction from Celebrity Big Brother. The Kaiser Chiefs have donated a funky brown vintage suit and black bowler hat, as well as a signed Kaiser Chiefs shirt and a couple of signed football shirts, while Russell Brand has donated a signed pair of his famous skinny jeans.

The celebrity auction follows the sale of a shirt donated by Kate Moss over at eBay. The T-Shirt, which was signed by the supermodel, raised almost $400 for the Princess Alice Hospice, a facility for cancer patients in Esher, England.

The hospice needs $13 million a year to provide care for people across south-west London and Surrey, of which three-quarters is raised through donations and fundraising. Over $1,600 was raised overall from items sold in the auction, which included a ring from children’s novelist Dame Jacqueline Wilson and a t-shirt signed by Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean, Suzanne Shaw, and fellow Dancing on Ice finalists.

Celebrities Kept Busy With Charity Initiatives

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:34:57 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Philanthropic celebrities have been more than busy lately, helping charities through a series of unique and exciting initiatives and events.

Although the current Hollywood writers’ strike is keeping the 2008 Academy Awards up in the air, model Heidi Klum has announced she will press ahead with her plans to donate the red dress she intends to wear at the Oscar ceremony to charity.

The donation is part of the Red Dress Program, an initiative between Diet Coke and the National Institutes of Health’s The Heart Truth to raise awareness of heart disease in women.

“Heidi Klum’s participation helps make this program even bigger, and gives consumers a great way to become involved and learn more about a crucial women’s health issue,” said Caren Pasquale Seckler, Group Director for Coca-Cola North America. “Through the Diet Coke Red Dress Program, we’re asking consumers to help us support women’s heart health and giving them the chance to win a one-of-a-kind red dress worn to the Oscars by Heidi Klum.”

The dress will be made available as part of a contest at www.mycokerewards.com, and for every sweepstakes entry, Diet Coke will donate $1 (up to a total of $250,000) in support of women’s heart health research and awareness.

Klum will also hit the catwalk on February 1 during The Red Dress Collection Fashion Show at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. The show will feature a range of dresses created by top fashion designers to show their support of the Heart Truth campaign.

Comedian Stephen Colbert has also recently made a donation to charity, with $171,525 being gifted to the Yellow Ribbon Fund, a charity that assists injured service members and their families.

The mock talk show host raised the money through the sale of his “WristStrong” bracelets, which were made available as part of his “Wrist Awareness” campaign started when he broke his wrist last June.

The tongue-in-cheek campaign saw celebrities such as Katie Couric, Brian Williams, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wearing the bracelets. It followed the sale of the cast from Colbert’s broken wrist, which raised $17,000 for the Yellow Ribbon Fund.

Another well-known figure to make a donation to charity lately was Hip Hop mogul Russell Simmons, who gifted $300,000 to the Diamond Empowerment Fund last week.

Simmons established the Fund in 2007 to provide resources for education programs designed to motivate Africans in countries where diamonds are mined. The donation comes from money raised from the Simmons Jewelry Green Initiative, a collection of bracelets made from green malachite and rough diamonds. Beyoncé Knowles, Vanessa Hudgens, and Mischa Barton are all reported to be owners of the bracelets.

In a completely different sort of initiative, singer KT Tunstall and Blur bassist Alex James are among celebrities teaming up to write an upcoming children’s book for charity.

The musicians will join a host of stars recruited by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children for the initiative. Each celebrity will write ten lines of the story before passing it on to the next person to continue.

The final product will be revealed in a one-off reading session before being auctioned off later in the year.

And finally, British television personality Jonathan Ross has challenged comedian Jimmy Carr to a celebrity doubles tennis match that will see the entertainers paired up with 1997 US Open finalist Greg Rusedski and 1987 Wimbledon winner Pat Cash.

The match – which will take place at London’s Albert Hall on March 14 – is part of Sport Relief 2008, a fundraising initiative from Comic Relief. Money raised will go towards helping vulnerable people living in the UK and the world’s poorest countries.

Beckhams Buy Wheelchair For 13-Year-Old Schoolboy

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 10:40:18 -0000

Written by Steve Purcell

Footballer David Beckham and popstar wife Victoria recently stepped in to help 13-year-old Ollie Rycraft, a UK schoolboy fighting a fourth brain tumour who desperately needed a new life-changing wheelchair.

Ollie’s mother Debbie told how she was overwhelmed when she answered a phone call from Victoria Beckham’s mum Jackie Adams.

“When she said that David and Victoria would like to buy Ollie the wheelchair I burst into floods of tears,” she said. “At first I thought it was a joke but then when the news sunk in I just sobbed ‘thank you’ down the phone.”

A letter from Ollie’s physiotherapist Kate Mills had brought the courageous youngster’s struggle to the couple’s attention.

“I wrote and told them what Ollie had been through and within two weeks I received a call from Victoria’s mum to say they would fund the wheelchair and organise everything,” said Kate.

A delighted Ollie expressed his gratitude to the famous couple, saying, “I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the wheelchair because it helps me to get around and be independent [...] I might be a Chelsea fan but I think David Beckham is great and a really good player.”

A spokesman for the Beckhams said they donated the money through their own children’s charity, but said that they prefer not to comment on individual cases as the work was not done for publicity reasons.

“The Beckhams’ children’s charity provides mobility equipment for children that need it –– they do it as and when they can and also do charity work for other charities such as the NSPCC and UNICEF,” he said. “The fund is a small but significant part of the charity work they do.”

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