Pop sensation The Arctic Monkeys have decided to do their bit for charity and are working with Oxfam to raise money to assist the charity’s development programs overseas. The Monkeys have taken a huge step in revolutionising the way celebrities encourage the public to make charitable donations by giving vinyl copies of their newest hit single, Crying Lightning, to the 700 stores around the UK, with sales precedes going to charity. The really ingenious part of the scheme comes from the limited nature of the records, and the fact they also come with a code to allow the purchaser to download the track for free as an MP3.

The Arctic Monkeys were propelled to chart-topping success in October 2005 with their catchy super smash-hit ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’. Still creating musical gold, the band have also encouraged their fans to bring in all their old cd’s to give to Oxfam to help the charity bring in more money. This valiant effort from the Monkeys is sure to boost the earnings of Oxfam, providing more aide and health assistance to suffering communities in the Third World. If there was ever a reason to take a trip to your local Oxfam shop, the Arctic Monkeys have surely given us all one now. Please take a look at our Oxfam Gift page for more information on this amazing charity and the donation options they have available for you.

Russell Crowe, star of the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator, has made a surprise appearance at a rather remote location to donate some of his hard-earned cash to Cancer Research UK. Crowe is currently filming near Ascot for his role in the upcoming remake of the story of Robin Hood, surely to be a box-office hit when released in 2010.

Whilst taking a break from filming, Australian superstar Crowe popped into the local Cancer Research UK branch in Sunningdale and asked if he could make a donation. Unrecognised by the staff in the office, Crowe, 45, gave a £1000 donation to the charity and had a chat with staff.

Cancer Research UK is Britain’s no.1 cancer-related charity, focusing on the development of new treatments and methods of care and support for those suffering from the world’s most widespread terminal illness. Although such vast donations are incredible, we can all do our bit and know that the help we are giving is no less important. Please take a look at our information on Cancer Research UK and make your gift to a loved one a charity donation to help eradicate this horrible illness.

A charity football match featuring football legends and celebrities in honour of Sir Bobby Robson has been a huge success. More than 33,000 spectators bought tickets to the match and…
Sir Bobby is currently fighting his fifth bout of cancer, a remarkable achievement from a truly inspirational man. He managed to make an appearance on the pitch in a wheelchair before the match commenced, where he was presented with the UEFA Lifetime Achievement award for his outstanding contributions to football.
Among those playing at the match were England superstar Paul Gascoigne, former Tottenham player Les Ferdinand and football legend Peter Beardsley. The match featured representatives for England and Germany, recreating the 1990 World Cup semi-final and ended with a 3-2 score-line as possible Newcastle manager Alan Shearer scored a penalty late in the second half.
Sir Bobby Robson’s cancer charity, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, has raised over 1.3 million pounds for cancer research, treatment and support. The match itself is predicted to have raised several hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity. Please check out our information on Cancer Research UK and consider a donation to help fight our biggest killer.

Star of the Back to the Future films, Michael J Fox, has been honoured by a number of celebrities and charity campaigners in Hollywood for his outstanding work in bringing attention to the lives of Parkinson’s sufferers.
Fox played the lovable character Marty McFly in the Back to the Future trilogy, finding himself embroiled in adventures in the past and future with the help of his time travelling companion, the Doc. The films went on to be huge successes with cult followings around the world.
Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 although he chose not to go public with the news until 2008. Parkinson’s is a progressive degenerative disease that worsens with time. It attacks the brain functions which control speech and movement. Sadly, the medication to suppress the disease has significant side effects that can alter on a daily basis. Fox has been fore fronting the struggle to permit research into curing Parkinson’s, as well as raising vast sums for charities in the meantime.

Take a look here for a touching interview from 2008 with the star.

Huge pop group The Killers, fronted by superstar Brandon Flowers, have stepped into the limelight once again to show their support for UNICEF. The alternative band from Las Vegas have just finished recording their latest music video for the song Goodnight, Travel Well. The video draws attention to the horrific realities of human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women and children. It features as part of the MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) event, which has also seen support and assistance from other megastars, such as the hugely popular R.E.M, classic act Placebo and modern favourite the White Stripes.

It is hard not to be touched by the message put across by these compassionate musicians, with so many people being treated terribly and acting as a product available to trade. You cannot put a price on a human life, let alone when you hear of the unspeakable acts these poor people are being forced into. Seeing the huge effort made my these musicians just goes to show that we can all set an example for others to see and together we can make a difference to the lives of those reduced to little more than slavery for the rest of their lives.

UNICEF has also been fighting the displacement of families in Somalia as a result of ongoing conflicts. It is almost impossible for us to imagine how terrible it must be to have your family uprooted from its home amidst the sporadic gunfire that is so commonplace in Somalia. For more information on this tragic issue, take a look at UNICEF’s video below and look at the UNICEF Gifts to see what you can do to help with a donation or charity gift.

Oxfam has reached an agreement with the government of Ethiopia to help deal with poverty, war and ecological problems that have been ravaging Africa in recent years. In the past, relations between Ethiopia’s governing bodies and Oxfam have been increasing in strength and reliability, with this recent move marking a historical peak in their communication and joint action.

Africa is a continent suffering a great deal. So many of its people are forced to live in terrible conditions, surrounded by disease, famine and poverty. Over 300 million Africans are still living below the poverty line. That is over five times the population of the United Kingdom! It is for this reason that we must do all we can to help resolve this situation. Now is the time to act. There are no second chances when it comes to human life on such a vast scale; if we don’t give donations to charities like Oxfam, we will be missing a chance to save countless lives in the long run.  for more information on the fantastic work Oxfam does and for a large selection of charity gifts they have on offer, visit our Oxfam Gifts page.

Oxfam have also been promoting their Bookbarn scheme, which makes sure every bit of use is had from all of our unwanted books and magazines.

The chair J K Rowling sat on to write the first two Harry Potter books is up for sale on eBay. The legendary chair, decorated by Rowling after writing the books, was originally sold for charity in 2002. The current owner has now put the chair up for sale again, with 20% of the value going to the Books Abroad charity. Books Abroad sends educational books to poor countries, where children receive little education and are forced to resort to crime and begging to avoid starvation.

The chair comes with a certificate of authenticity, signed by Rowling herself, and addressed to ‘the new owner of my chair.’ This really is the ultimate collector’s item for any of the millions of Potter fans out there. For more information on the chair itself, go to http://www.theharrypotterchair.com/ and take a look at a piece of literary history.

If you pop on to eBay.co.uk right now you can find the chair that played its part in the creation of Hogwarts and see how the auction is going. Of course, such a huge amount donated to charity is a very exceptional case; however, every small donation you can spare makes a great deal of difference to those suffering around the world.

Manchester United and Wales football legend Ryan Giggs recently reaffirmed his solid support for the charity UNICEF.

Speaking out against the spread of HIV in poverty-stricken areas, Giggs met a young girl on Manchester United’s pre-season tour of Malaysia who has already lost her father and is helping to care for her mother, who has HIV. Touched by the girl’s story, Giggs explained how changing attitudes to HIV was a very important aim of his. In many parts of the world, there is still an attitude surrounding those suffering from HIV/AIDS making them feel like exiles and lesser people. This is an attitude that has to change if we want to eventually win the fight against this horrible disease.

Ryan Giggs has represented UNICEF since 2002, fore fronting a campaign to prevent children being killed or maimed by landmines left unmarked following conflicts. He has shown himself to be a remarkable human being and has shown the upmost compassion for the children you could help today with a donation.

More Information and a huge selection of gift and donation options from UNICEF are available here at Unicef Gifts

A lucky punter bid over £1 Million (1.68 million dollars, to be precise) to share a steakhouse lunch with the billionaire Warren Buffett. Buffett, the second richest man in the world, has raised nearly four times that amount since he began running the auctions in at the turn of the century.

The proceeds from the auction will be donated to the charity “Glide”, a non-profit church offering support for the poorest in society. The foundation provides nearly three-quarters of a million meals a year free to those in need.

Oxfam are launching a competition encouraging the public to customise their own clothes from recycled and reclaimed items, and submit them for judging by the famous British stylist, Mrs. Jones, real name Fee Doran, who is famous for glamming up countless pop and rock stars – Kylie Minogue, The killers and many more. Most recently, she ran a photo shoot featuring regular people modelling specialist looks entirely made from garments and clothing from Oxfam’s recycling facility.

For the new Oxfam online fashion site, users are encouraged to raid their wardrobes or an Oxfam shop and add the custom article to the site in photo form. Winning designs will win customised clothes by Mrs Jones herself. The next best 5 designs will be showcased on the Oxfam site.
When asked about the competition, Fee said “says: “Seeing as I’ve always shopped in Oxfam, creating Oxfam DIY was the perfect opportunity to give something back. It’s a rare feeling in fashion to be doing something ethical, sustainable and worthwhile. We’ve taken a look at people’s attitudes to fashion and consumption, and are giving them the materials, ideas and confidence to create their own looks via Oxfam DIY.”