Gareth Thomas named Postcode Hero for HIV work, & other celeb news
Melanie May | 19 May 2022 | News
Which celebrities are supporting what causes? Here’s a round up, including Gareth Thomas, Dr Ranj Singh, and Rosamund Pike.
Dr Ranj Singh visits schools for the Sleep Charity & Furniture Village
NHS doctor and TV personality, Dr Ranj Singh visited two London schools – Kensington Primary Academy and Trafalgar Junior School in Twickenham – on Monday 16 May, to talk to pupils and parents about the importance of a good night’s sleep. The educational assemblies have been organised by Furniture Village in collaboration with the Sleep Charity and form part of a wider mission to support the nation when it comes to sleep. Dr Ranj is the Sleep and Wellness Ambassador for Furniture Village and has been an integral part of the campaign to date. Dr Ranj has worked closely with Furniture Village and the Sleep Charity on a number of key campaigns, including the introduction of the UK’s first National Sleep Helpline.
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Gareth Thomas named Postcode Hero for HIV work
Welsh rugby star and HIV campaigner Gareth Thomas has been named this year’s Postcode Hero at the annual People’s Postcode Lottery Charity Gala.. The prize was presented to Thomas in recognition of his work to tackle the stigma around HIV. During the ceremony at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, he also received a cheque for £250,000 on behalf of Terrence Higgins Trust. The money was raised by the players of People’s Postcode Lottery and awarded by the Postcode Innovation Trust. Previous winners of the Postcode Hero award include George and Amal Clooney, Sir David Attenborough, human rights activist Nice Nailantei Leng’ete, and the footballer and campaigner Marcus Rashford.
Jamie Peacock completes ultramarathon for Greenhouse Sports
GB Rugby League Legend and former England Captain Jamie Peacock completed a 104-mile charity ultramarathon over Easter weekend, raising £18,000 for London sports and mentoring charity Greenhouse Sports. With the charity having to temporarily close their Marylebone HQ, the Greenhouse Centre, in December 2021 due to safety issues in the Centre’s roof, Peacock pledged to ‘Run for the Roof’ in 2022. The challenge is also helping to raise awareness of the charity, which is this year celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Rosamund Pike joins forces with Mines Advisory Group on new appeal
Manchester-based landmine clearance charity the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) has joined forces with actor Rosamund Pike to launch its Unlock the Land fundraising appeal. The campaign aims to fund a team of women to clear unexploded bombs, which remain a hidden threat to families in Laos decades after the end of war. Laos is the most heavily bombed country in the world per capita. Under the UK Aid Match scheme, donations made to MAG’s Unlock the Land appeal, made between 25 April and 24 July, will be doubled by the UK government.
Liam Gallagher gig raises funds for Nightsafe
Liam Gallagher played an intimate gig in Blackburn to promote a Spezial trainer partnership with adidas and raise money for local homeless charity Nightsafe on 27 April. To get tickets, fans entered a ballot and were asked to make a £20 donation per ticket with all proceeds going to the charity. The concert, in King George’s Hall’s centenary year, was to announce the launch of a new trainer collaboration with adidas Spezial called the LG2SPZL which will release in the coming months.
Chef Matt Tebbutt becomes Popham Kidney Support ambassador
Popham Kidney Support has announced a new ambassador: TV presenter and chef, Matt Tebbutt. The partnership aims to increase awareness and exposure of the issues surrounding kidney disease and the support and service the charity provides, as well as increasing awareness of its Children’s Kidney Centre outpatient refurbishment project, which has a fundraising target of over £130,000. The Paul Popham Fund has currently raised over £30,000 toward the refurbishment. Matt Tebbutt is best known for his work on the popular BBC1 food and chat show ‘Saturday Kitchen’ and ‘Food Unwrapped’, on Channel 4. He has also been involved in other projects like ‘Daily Kitchen Live’ and ‘Save Money Good Food’.
Tamzin Outhwaite joins Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice as ambassador
Former EastEnders actress and TV presenter Tamzin Outhwaite has been announced as a Celebrity Ambassador of Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice in north London. The star visited Noah’s Ark’s state-of-the-art hospice, The Ark, in High Barnet to meet some of the children supported by the charity. She also met members of Noah’s Ark’s nursing team to learn about the charity’s campaign to enlist an additional ten children’s nurses. The campaign seeks to address the need for more nurses to care for children in north London and Herts Valley who are seriously unwell.
Casualty stars support Scottish Huntington’s Association
Scottish Huntington’s Association has enlisted the help of BBC’s Casualty stars in the run up to one of its biggest fundraising events of the year, Dance 100. It came about after charity trustee and palliative care nurse Gillian McNab, 52, reached out for help to actor George Rainsford, who plays Dr Ethan Hardy, a consultant facing the onset of Huntington’s disease in the long-running BBC drama. Their online chat inspired him to invite Gillian to visit the Casualty set last summer, meet the cast and take part in filming as an extra. Rainsford has also helped to promote the charity’s Dance 100 fundraising challenge with a video of the cast dancing to the Casualty theme tune and has also spoken about Dance 100 on BBC1 Morning Live.
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.