Look To The Stars News: Cancer Research UK

Tom Jones Hits The Streets For Charity

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:30:00 -0000

London’s office workers got the surprise of their lives on Wednesday, November 19, when they were treated to a performance by Welsh crooner Sir Tom Jones.

The 68-year-old was busking outside the Royal Festival Hall to raise money for Cancer Research UK as part of the BBC Two Culture Show’s Busking Challenge, which sees leading acts perform in public places for charity. Buckets were passed round the 1,000 people who gathered to watch the 15 minute set, with £460 being raised.

“This is the first busking I have ever done,“ he said. “This is for cancer research.“

Accompanied by an acoustic guitar, Jones performed his greatest hits It’s Not Unusual and Green Green Grass of Home, plus his own version of Jerry Lee Lewis’ hit Great Balls Of Fire.

Big Stars Support Cancer Research UK’s ‘Little Stars’

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:00:00 -0000

Written by Delinda Lombardo

Celebrities and athletes are lining up to support cancer research via a remarkable program which urges relatives and friends of young cancer patients or survivors to nominate their young heroes for recognition as a ‘Little Star.’

Lewis Hamilton, Leona Lewis, Dr Who actor David Tennant, Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Britain’s Got Talent winner George Sampson are all supporting the campaign to find “Little Stars” from across the region who have courageously battled against cancer.

The Little Star Awards are given out by Cancer Research UK and partner TK Maxx. There in no panel of judges awarding Little Star’s because they believe each and every child who confronts cancer is extra special. This means that everyone nominated will receive a £100 TK Maxx voucher, a chrome trophy and a certificate signed by celebrities from TV, music and sport.

Jane Redman, Cancer Research UK spokeswoman for the West Midlands, said: “The Little Star Awards are now in their sixth year and allow us to recognize the unique challenges faced by youngsters diagnosed with cancer and salute their courage. We are delighted that recipients will this year have £100 to spend on toys, books or fashion as part of TK Maxx’s wider commitment to supporting children with cancer.”

Jo Murphy, TK Maxx’s head of corporate social responsibility, said: “The Little Star Awards are a fantastic way of recognizing the courage of children who face a diagnosis of cancer and the support they receive from families and friends. We’ve supported Cancer Research UK since 2004 and are very pleased to be involved this year.”

The awards are open to children under-17 who have cancer or have been treated for the disease in the last five years. To nominate email littlestar@cancer.org.uk or visit www.cancerresearchuk.org/littlestar.

College Students Stage Celebrity Shoe Auction

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A host of celebrities are baring their soles in a charity auction organized by college students in Scotland this week.

Robin Williams, Daniel Radcliffe, Zoë Wanamaker, Ewan McGregor, and Elton John are among the stars to donate their footwear to One Step Beyond, a charity made up of staff and students of Angus College at Arbroath.

The 19 pairs of shoes will be on auction until October 19, and proceeds will go to organizations such as Cancer Research UK, Cash for Kids, No More Landmines, and the Angus College Charitable Trust.

“The very first pair of celeb shoes that we got in were from Sir Elton John and he very kindly donated his 1975 original stage shoes to us, which are really quite fantastic so we’re hoping to get good bids for them,“ said auction organizer Kay Gilmour. “As well as that we’ve got shoes from Andy Murray, footballers’ boots such as Barry Ferguson’s, and Stephen Fry gave us his hairy monster slippers. We also have shoes from the US – we’ve got Robin Williams’ hand-made gold trainers which he signed for us and we’ve got Emma Thompson, who gave us a beautiful pair of Jimmy Choo shoes, which she wore when she was launching her movie Nanny McPhee in the States. We also have Jo Brand’s smelly plimsolls – as she calls them, not us – and a whole range of other stuff.”

Last year, students at the school created a three-mile line of shoes and then donated all 20,000 pairs to charities in Africa.

The auction can be accessed through eBay.

Handbag.com Launches Handbag Amnesty

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:30:00 -0000

www.handbag.com and Cancer Research UK have announced a new partnership with the launch of the first ever Handbag Amnesty.

Taking place throughout the month of September – www.handbag.com’s dedicated handbag month – and climaxing in October, the Handbag Amnesty will give women across the country the opportunity to bid for the designer handbag of their favourite celebrity including, just to name a few, Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Dame Shirley Bassey, to raise money to help beat cancer.

www.handbag.com and Cancer Research UK are asking celebrities to make space in their wardrobes by donating one of their designer handbags to the Amnesty. The bags will then be auctioned on eBay from Friday 3rd – Sunday 14th October to tie in with Breast Cancer Awareness month. Open to everyone, all proceeds will go to Cancer Research UK, the largest single funder of research into breast cancer, one of the most common cancers in the UK.

Some of the other celebrities who have donated handbags are America Ferrera, Annie Lennox, Ashlee Simpson, Geri Halliwell, Dame Judi Dench, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Scarlett Johansson.

The Handbag Amnesty, however, is not just about celebrities. www.handbag.com and Cancer Research UK are also asking members of the public to donate a handbag that is still in good condition to their local Cancer Research UK shop. Good handbags always sell like hot cakes in Cancer Research UK’s nationwide chain of charity shops.

Claire Higgins, Head of Marketing at www.handbag.com, says: “As the leading lifestyle website for women in the UK, we are in the unique position of being able to reach more than 1.5 million women across the country. 44,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK so we are very proud to be working with Cancer Research UK to help make a difference – not only by raising a lot of money to fund research into preventing breast cancer, but also by helping to raise much needed awareness of the illness.”

Paul Farthing, Director of High Value Relationships at Cancer Research UK, says: “We’re delighted to be working with www.handbag.com to launch Handbag Amnesty. The auction of celebrity handbags will be an exciting way to raise funds for our vital research into breast cancer. We also hope that by encouraging supporters to donate their own favourite handbag, and other unwanted quality items to our shops, we will be able to raise even more to help beat cancer.”

For more information and a full list of celebrities taking part, please visit www.handbag.com/amnesty

Sandi Thom Shows Sunbed Danger

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Scottish singer Sandi Thom is taking part in a shocking new advertising campaign to warn youngsters of the dangers of sunbeds and skin cancer.

Cancer Research UK has published a series of photos of the singer depicting how Thom could look through overexposure to UV rays, which the charity said in some sunbeds can be 10 to 15 times higher than those of the midday sun. The images show severe skin damage in the singer, which could be caused by overexposure to UV from sunbed use or regular sunbathing.

“I’m in a state of shock at the thought of looking like this at 57 is terrifying,” said 27-year-old Thom. “Having seen these images I can honestly say I am never going to use a sunbed again. You can so easily get brown from a bottle these days, there is just no point in ruining your looks and risking skin cancer by using sunbeds. I hope the horrible image of me will make other young people think twice before they next use a sunbed.”

The images can be seen at the charity’s SunSmart website.

Sugababes To Headline Charity Concert

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

British girl group the Sugababes are part of a special charity gig in England this weekend.

The ‘Babes will headline a two day festival in Dagenham on Saturday night, and will be followed by classic rockers Status Quo on Sunday night. Also performing will be the Bay City Rollers and David Essex.

The festival will benefit Cancer Research UK and St Dunstan’s – a charity helping blind ex-servicemen.

“The last couple of weeks have been absolutely amazing,” said artistic director Rob Ferguson. “The sun has come out. It’s made a huge difference to sales. We do have the ability to expand past 10,000 [ticket sales]. We’ll keep pushing to the end – we have a 20,000 licence. Every penny is for charity. There is no profit whatsoever.”

Tickets are available through www.ticketmaster.co.uk.

Buskers Joined By Stars For Charity

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Chart-topping Scottish singer Sandi Thom is among a group of performers supporting what is expected to be Britain’s biggest busking – or street performing – event.

A variety of musicians and street performers will take part in a nationwide busking event next month in aid of cancer research. Busking Cancer will run from September 6-13, and all money raised will go to Cancer Research UK. Thom – who hit the charts in 2006 with I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker and has just released her second album, The Pink And The Lily – will be joined by a Johnny Cash tribute act from Glasgow, an all-girls school in London, a man who plays the shawn – a medieval instrument that sounds like the bagpipes, a Fleetwood folk club, a circus performer, a little boy from Milton Keynes who recently lost both his great grandparents to cancer, and Suggs – lead singer for British ska band Madness.

“Playing music is such a joyful thing and it’s the soundtrack to all of our lives,” said Suggs, whose hits include Our House, It Must Be Love, and House of Fun. “I’m lucky enough to make my living from it but many people just play for the sheer fun of it. That’s the joy of busking – you can just stand up and sing or play anywhere. People love to stop and listen. And to do it in aid of Cancer Research UK – to help anyone whose life has been touched by cancer – is just fantastic. I’d urge everyone to get out on the streets of Britain from September 6 to 13 and have one big party. Have some fun – and raise some money that might just help save someone’s life.”

Sandi Thom is equally excited to be involved.

“Busking Cancer is fun, young and positive,” said the 26-year-old, whose latest hit is The Devil’s Beat.

The busking events will run all across Britain for a week.

Coronation Street Stars Play For Good Causes

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Coronation Street fans are in for a nice surprise – stars from the long-running British soap have just filmed a special celebrity episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire for charity.

Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz Brown, and Samia Smith, who plays Maria Connor, joined Sally Whittaker (Sally Webster) and Michael Starke (Jerry Morton) for the first episode of the new series of the popular game show, each representing a charity close to their hearts.

“It’s much harder answering the questions in the studio than at home,” said McAlpine, whose father is the chairman of her chosen charity, Mood Swings Network. “You can be absolutely certain of an answer but still have doubts.”

Her partner in the quiz hot seat – Samia Smith – was hoping to hit the jackpot for Cancer Research UK in the first of three ITV1 celebrity charity specials, with Whittaker representing ActionAid and Starke playing for Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice in Liverpool.

“You only get one chance in the hot seat and it’s even more nerve-wracking when you’re playing for charity,” said McAlpine. “We’ve also had to keep quiet about how much we raised since filming it. There are so many people who need the unique support Mood Swings gives. That was the whole point of going on the program.”

Coronation Street is one of the longest running television shows in Britain, with its first broadcast almost 48 years ago. The Who Wants to be a Millionaire special will screen on ITV on August 16.

Look To The Stars News: Cancer Research UK

Tom Jones Hits The Streets For Charity

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