Arlo Parks becomes UNICEF UK High Profile Supporter, & other celeb news
Melanie May | 11 July 2022 | News
From Arlo Parks becoming a High Profile Supporter for UNICEF UK to Joe Lycett’s support of BanktheFood, here’s more news of how celebrities are supporting charities.
Arlo Parks made a UNICEF UK High Profile Supporter
Double Grammy Award nominee, BRIT Awards and Mercury Prize winning musician/poet Arlo Parks has been made a UNICEF UK High Profile Supporter, elevating her support of the charity and commitment to protecting the rights of children around the world. Parks has supported The UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) since 2021, when she performed at UNICEF UK’s inaugural Blue Moon Gala at Outernet London in December which raised over £750,000 for children caught up in emergencies around the world. She also wrote a short piece for UNICEF’s report State of the World’s Children 2021: On My Mind, focusing on children’s mental health. In her first appearance as a UNICEF UK High Profile Supporter Arlo Park’s visited a secondary school in London, Balham, which has recently been awarded Gold in UNICEF UK’s nation-wide Rights Respecting Schools Award.
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Ryan Peniston becomes sporting ambassador for Young Lives vs Cancer
Wimbledon ‘wildcard’ Ryan Peniston has announced his new role as sporting ambassador for Young Lives vs Cancer. Having been diagnosed with cancer as a baby, he has shared how he wants to raise awareness of childhood cancer and help others in similar positions. Peniston was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma as a one-year-old, and went on to have eighteen months of treatment at St Bartholomew’s hospital in London, including chemotherapy and surgery. He went into remission after treatment but continued to have annual check-ups until the age of 21. He also suffered with various late side effects, which he says did have an impact on his tennis. Peniston wants to use his new role as Young Lives vs Cancer ambassador to raise awareness and inspire other young people in a similar position he was.
Christina Lamb supports Afghanaid campaign
Journalist and bestselling author Christina Lamb OBE is Afghanaid’s By Her Side campaign, which supports women to become changemakers in their communities. The campaign is match funded so until 30 September, for every £1 that given to By Her Side, the UK government will give an additional £1 of UK aid.
Joe Lycett donates time to narrate film for BanktheFood
Comedian and TV host Joe Lycett has donated his time to narrate a new charity mission film for BanktheFood. The film promotes the charity’s free app which helps food banks all over the country get the supplies they need, when they need them and #NotJustBakedBeans. BanktheFood is calling on people to download the app which pings donors a list of urgently needed items from their local food bank when they arrive at the supermarket. Shoppers can then add an item to their shop and donate it at the local donation station.
Stars lend support to 75th anniversary of Anne Frank’s Diary
Actor-writer Sarah Solemani (Bridget Jones’ Baby, Ridley Road, Chivalry), Author and poet Michael Rosen and Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich have all lent their support to the 75th anniversary of Anne Frank’s Diary, which was on 27 June. Marking the occasion, the Anne Frank Trust UK honoured Anne’s lasting legacy with a week of celebration and reflection. This included, on Tuesday 21 June, an event at the Royal Society of Arts, where Solemani delivered a speech that highlighted the message of hope that is found in Anne’s diary, along with a call to action to harness that hope and take immediate action to end injustice and prejudice. The charity is also running an online auction to raise funds for its work. Lots include afternoon tea with Dame Joanna Lumley, a cricket coaching session with former Yorkshire Captain Azeem Rafiq and top tickets to Olivier award-winning musical, Back to the Future.
Elizabeth Hurley becomes Global Ambassador for Smile Train
Hurley is lending Smile Train her support to raise the profile of Smile Train in the UK and further afield. In a video, she spoke about how Smile Train had opened her eyes to the fact that every three minutes a baby somewhere in the world is born with a cleft, and unable to breathe, sleep or eat properly. Describing her new role as an ‘honour’ and ‘privilege’, she will use her global platform to raise awareness of clefts in the UK whilst using her voice to shine the spotlight on Smile Train’s programmes and initiatives around the world. Hurley is planning to visit Smile Train programmes in India in 2023 to meet with the local partner surgeons, cleft patients and their families who’ve benefitted from Smile Train’s support.
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.