A round up of celebrity support for good causes – from sports stars Gary Lineker and Geva Mentor, to Pixie Lott, and Will Poulter.
Glen Michael supports Erskine in run up to 80th anniversary of D-Day
Television’s Glen Michael, best known for Glen Michael’s Cartoon Cavalcade, has thrown his support behind Scotland’s veterans’ charity Erskine as it prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day next month. A veteran himself, Michael began his career as an entertainer on stage, he and his wife Beryl would perform for troops during the war – before he then joined the RAF. He would later go on to have hit shows spanning the 60s, 70s and 80s. He found further success on the Scottish theatre circuit, performing alongside the likes of Rikki Fulton and Jack Milroy.
Gary Lineker & Geva Mentor support Big Help Out’s Sports launch
Gary Lineker recently launched the Big Help Out’s Sports volunteering push alongside netball star Geva Mentor. The event aimed to address the significant drop in volunteers within the sports sector highlighted by Sport England’s recent survey. The stars are encouraging people to volunteer with their local clubs as part of this year’s Big Help Out, which takes place on 7-9 June.
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The Big Help Out Sports launch took place on 9 May, and saw Lineker and Mentor attend a specially organised youth sports day at Connect Stars, a London-based community group who seek to tackle social exclusion, and join coaching volunteers as they coached football and netball to teams of local children.
Pixie Lott supports 2024 Race for Life launch
Singer-songwriter and pop star Pixie Lott helped Cancer Research UK launch the 2024 Race for Life event season with a surprise “Life Lounge” performance in Battersea Power Station earlier this month (April) – less than a mile from the location of the first ever Race for Life in 1994.
The “Life Lounge” pop-up gig saw the pop star perform a selection of songs in support of Race for Life and to launch the #PlaysForLife campaign, which invites those taking part – and those who are yet to sign-up – to add their song choice to the ultimate Race for Life playlist. Pixie Lott herself shared that she has added Everybody’s Talkin’ by Harry Nilsson to playlist, which she revealed has a special connection for her family, while she performed her hits Boys and Girls and All About Tonight as well as new singles Midnight Trash and Coco Chanel.
Harry Kane helps Shout promote Move for Mental Health challenge
England captain and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane is supporting mental health support service Shout through The Harry Kane Foundation by helping it promote Move for Mental Health. This challenges people to find a type of exercise they enjoy and stick with it over the course of Mental Health Awareness Week (13 – 19 May), the theme for which is ‘Movement: Moving more for our mental health’.
Shout is providing ideas, support and inspiration from Harry and a range of celebrities and influencers including The Traitors’ Mollie Pearce, advocate for those with limb difference; and Will Young, Shout patron, musician and actor. People can join the challenge on JustGiving to help Shout hit the £15,000 target.
Fashion legend Rankin shoots for Shelter
Shelter enlisted the help of Rankin to launch a new awareness campaign last month, promoting sustainable fashion and its 77 charity shops across England, Scotland and Wales. The ‘Less is More’ campaign celebrates the environmental and style benefits of buying second-hand, saying ‘people can be less throw out and feel more knock out’.
To mark the launch, Rankin has created a series of images exclusive to the housing and homelessness charity. Using items sourced from Shelter stores, the photographs capture the joy of unearthing pre-loved gems and promote some of the vintage treasures on offer.
Will Poulter & Big Zuu team up with Magic Breakfast to support annual Fuel for Success campaign
Hollywood actor Will Poulter and TV foodie Big Zuu have teamed up with Magic Breakfast to support its annual Fuel For Success campaign, helping to support young people living with food insecurity who are facing exams this summer.
Will and Big Zuu each cooked up a healthy, nutritious breakfast to raise awareness of the campaign and the importance of breakfast in powering learning. Starting on 1 May and running throughout the peak exam-season of May and June, Fuel For Success is now in its third year and is supported by a number of different restaurant partners by adding a voluntary £1 donation to customer bills for the duration of the campaign. £1 is enough to provide a nutritious breakfast to three children before an exam.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.