Nell McAndrew launches online celebrity hat auction for DebRA with support from Bhs.
HATS owned by stars including Ringo Starr, Cliff Richard, Ewan McGregor, David Jason, Alan Rickman, Graham Norton, Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy and Ian Wright go on sale on eBay on Thursday April 27 in a charity hat auction in aid of DebRA.
DebRA vice president Nell McAndrew will officially launch the Celebrity Mad Hatter eBay Auction at Bhs Oxford Street where she will showcase some of the 70 or so hats going under the virtual hammer, including the Philip Treacy hat and the Gabriela Ligenza hat that she is donating to the auction.
Nell will also meet baby Maisy, who has EB (Epidermolysis Bullosa), and her family.
Philip Green offered to host the launch after personally choosing DebRA as the Bhs Charity of the Year.
Nell is a vice president of Debra and befriended Jonny Kennedy, who featured in the award-winning documentary The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off, before his death from EB-related cancer in 2003.
It was Jonny’s heartbreaking but uplifting story that encouraged many of the stars to take part
Nell said: “I promised my friend Jonny Kennedy, that I would continue to support DebRA whenever I could. DebRA’s Celebrity Mad Hatter eBay Auction is a great way to help raise awareness and funds for such a great cause, by simply bidding for your favourite hat.
I have donated two hats, the pretty Philip Treacy one I wore when I first met Jonny and a very classy Gabriela Ligenza hat I wore at Ascot.
Make sure you bid and support DebRA and keep Jonny’s dream alive of finding a cure for EB.”
The auction will be launched on eBay on Thursday April 27 and will run until Sunday May 21. It can be accessed directly by visiting www.debra.org.uk and clicking on the Celebrity Mad Hatter eBay Auction link.
The auction is part of DebRA’s Mad Hatter campaign, which includes Mad Hatter Day on Friday May 5. Staff members in Bhs stores across the UK are taking part in Mad Hatter Day events.
