A host of celebrities have been showing their artistic side for charity by taking part in this year’s National Doodle Day.
Doodles by famous faces including David Cameron, Sir Michael Parkinson, Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Terry Wogan, Steven Gerrard, Miranda Hart, Rolf Harris, Nick Park, Sir Ben Kingsley, Peter André and Joanna Lumley will be auctioned on eBay from Friday 2 March. The auction will raise money for national charity Epilepsy Action.
National Doodle Day, which is supported by diary designer Dodo-Pad, aims to get as many people doodling as possible. Every doodle will help to support the 600,000 people with epilepsy across the UK. The celebrity doodle eBay auction will begin on National Doodle Day – Friday 2 March – and will run until Sunday 10 March.
Over 1,000 celebrities have taken part in National Doodle Day since it began in 2004 and members of the public can join them by doing their own doodle. Schools can submit doodles into an annual National Doodle Day competition in exchange for a small donation. All schools entering the competition will have the chance to win up to £250 worth of vouchers to spend on equipment for their school. Certificates will be awarded to all schools taking part. The winning schools will have their work displayed in the doodle Hall of Fame on the National Doodle Day website.
There is a separate competition for groups and individuals. Doodlers can submit a doodle to the competition for a suggested minimum donation of £1. Prizes for the best doodles will be awarded in two categories – doodlers under 16 years and doodlers 17 years and over. The winning doodlers will win £250 of high street vouchers to be spent in over 20,000 stores across the UK.
Philippa Cartwright, fundraising events manager at Epilepsy Action, said: “National Doodle Day is a great way for celebrities and members of the public alike to get creative for a good cause. It is a fantastic, fun event and absolutely anyone can take part. Taking just five minutes out of your day to get creative can make all the difference to the 600,000 people living with epilepsy in the UK. Just £10 could fund a call to our freephone Epilepsy Helpline, giving one caller the answers and support they need, at a time they need it most. So please get doodling or bid on one of our celebrity doodles and help us draw a line through epilepsy.”
Individual entries should be drawn on an A5 piece of card and include name, age, telephone number and address on the back. Closing date for entries is Friday 13 April 2012. There is a suggested minimum donation of £1 for each entry.
To find out more about National Doodle Day, visit www.nationaldoodleday.org.uk or call 0113 210 8800.
