Richard E. Grant cuts ribbon for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, plus more celeb news
Melanie May | 15 November 2024 | News
From Richard E. Grant to Stephen Fry, here’s a round up of how celebrities have been supporting good causes around the UK recently.
Richard E. Grant opens remembrance garden for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity
Actor Richard E. Grant cut the ribbon to officially open the garden on 14 November. Each year, the Ever After Garden, which this year is filled with over 30,000 illuminated white roses, offers a space to pause and reflect over the festive period. Visitors are invited to dedicate a rose in memory of a loved one, whilst making a donation to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, which supports the work of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Brookfield is Headline Partner for the Ever After Garden 2024.
The garden was inspired by the late production designer Michael Howells, whose work included the film Ever After, after which the garden is named. After the loss of their friend, designer and Trustee of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, Anya Hindmarch, and fashion writer, Camilla Morton, wanted to find an inspiring way to remember those we have lost. Together, they created the Ever After Garden, which first lit up Grosvenor Square in 2019.
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Stars help 2024 STV Children’s Appeal reach over £2.4mn
The programme was presented by host Lorraine Kelly, alongside STV’s Laura Boyd, and broadcast from Glasgow Kelvin College’s Springburn Campus, with involvement from their Film Studies students. The college is supported by the Appeal to run intergenerational Community Hubs that benefit children and parents alike.
The STV Appeal Show concluded a week of fundraising on STV which saw a host of famous faces including Brian Cox, Marli Sui and Alan Cumming appearing on the channel to support its charity drive. Jean Johansson also presented an inspiring documentary on the importance of positive role models on young lives, while S1 pupils from St Andrews RC Secondary in Glasgow’s East End took over as STV channel announcers, introducing shows on-air all week. Elsewhere, STV presenters Sean Batty and Laura Boyd were tasked with reaching as many Scottish monuments as they could within 48 hours and completing tasks by local schools and businesses to fundraise along the way.
TV star lends a hand with hospice shop relaunch
TV star Briony May Williams has helped to relaunch a charity shop following its refurbishment and transformation into a vintage boutique. The shop in Westbury Hill is one of two St Peter’s Hospice shops in Westbury-on-Trym and has been revamped to specialise in vintage goods, just in time for the Christmas shopping season to begin. It will offer vintage clothing, home goods and small items of furniture and furnishings, all curated to appeal to lovers of timeless styles and sustainable shopping. The charity will be launching a loyalty card alongside the opening of the shop, which can be used in either of the two Westbury-on-Trym shops.
Bristol-based Briony, best known for her appearances on Great British Bake Off and as a presenter on Escape to the Country, is encouraging people to shop pre-loved this year and says the new vintage boutique is a great place to start.
BBC’s Jules Hudson leads sponsored walk campaign for military veterans
Veterans charity Walking With The Wounded has announced the 2024 launch of its annual Walking Home fundraising effort, encouraging people to take a walk this winter, big or small, in aid of the charity’s continued support of military veterans.
Former Army Reservist and presenter of the BBC’s Escape to the Country, Jules Hudson, leads the campaign. Hudson took part in a sponsored walk at Monmouth Castle where his former regiment, the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers, is stationed. Alongside him were local Cadets from the Monmouth Detachment ACF and Haberdashers Monmouth School CCF. As well as combating loneliness, this year’s motto of ‘Let’s Talk’ looks to encourage conversations about mental health more widely.
Stephen Fry appeals for 32 seconds to help boost food bank donations
Stephen Fry is encouraging people to take 32 seconds to download BanktheFood, a free app that helps ensure food banks get what they need in the run-up to Christmas and beyond. The app instantly connects donors to their nearest food bank, providing a list of their most needed items.
Spoken-word artist Georgie Jones wrote 32 Seconds, which illustrates the positive impact of downloading an app in just a few seconds. In the campaign’s launch video, Stephen Fry brings Jones’ words to life, making a heartfelt appeal to the public: “While it may take minutes to make a cup of tea or inflate a balloon, it takes just 32 seconds to download the BanktheFood app and help those struggling to afford food.”
YouTuber Daz Black raises more than £22K for Rays of Sunshine in charity game-athon
Rays of Sunshine’s first-ever game-athon fundraiser, hosted by content creator Daz Black, raised more than £22,000 to help the charity grant more magical wishes for seriously ill children. The event saw fans, known as ‘dazzlers’, come together for five and a half hours of Halloween-themed gaming
With the help of interactive fundraising platform Tiltify and production company Sassy Plus they were engaged to donate to influence the stream – for example, by donating to vote for different challenges set for Daz as he gamed. GAMINGBible, a LADBible Group brand, matched the first £10,000 of donations, while different fundraising milestones provoked different events, including an all-out ‘Party Mode’ for each £5,000 reached. Other highlights included Daz’s stint in a pumpkin outfit, and his Off The Hook cohost Will challenging him to drink some weird and wild drinks. Daz’s biggest fan, 19-year-old James, was also able to join him in the studio for the stream, thanks to Rays of Sunshine.
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.