By Tim Saunders on
A host of stars are going commando for charity this week by donating their underwear to a new charity auction.
Stars such as the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie, Emma Thompson, Helen Mirren, Katie Price, Tilda Swinton, and Joanna Lumley have donated their autographed underwear to the auction, which will benefit the New North London Synagogue, an institution that offers a wide range of educational, cultural, social action, and other communal activities for both its membership and the wider Jewish and non-Jewish community, including a monthly drop-In for destitute asylum seekers.
A wide range of signed underwear is going under the hammer, from the extremely small to the strangely old-fashioned. Also up for auction are pants autographed by Ricky Gervais, Jarvis Cocker, Alex Kingston, Daniel Day Lewis, Nick Cave, Nick Hornby, Ray Winstone, Sacha Baron Cohen, and many more.
Money from the auction will go to buying food and other essentials required by asylum seekers. The organization explains: “Destitute asylum seekers have had their asylum claims refused. They live here in fear, terrified of being forcibly returned home where they face more of the persecution they originally fled from. Many are survivors of torture and have lost loved ones in conflicts back home. They are not allowed to work and in most cases are not eligible for housing or benefits. Many go hungry and some have been diagnosed with malnutrition. They don’t even have the money to buy underwear which is basic to human dignity, and so our celebrities have signed underwear to both raise funds for them and draw attention to their plight.”
The auction runs until March 31 and can be accessed here
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