Hundreds of celebrities will be showing their artistic side for charity as part of this year's National Doodle Day. Doodles by celebrities including Fearne Cotton, Joanna Lumley, Sir Michael Parkinson, Sir Ben Kingsley, Rick Astley, Vic Reeves, Tim Henman, and Gino D’Acampo will be auctioned on eBay from Friday 11 February. The auction will raise money for national charity Epilepsy Action.
The eBay auction will begin on National Doodle Day – Friday 11 February - and will run until 20 February. People can also vote for their favourite by text. Details of how to do this can be found on the National Doodle Day website, www.nationaldoodleday.org.uk
Over 1,000 celebrities have taken part in the annual event over the years and members of the public can follow in their footsteps in an individual Doodle Day competition. With a theme of ‘Me and my world’, doodlers will have the chance to doodle all about what’s important to them. Doodlers can also see what their doodles reveal about their personality on the ‘meanings’ section of the National Doodle Day website.
The individual Doodle Day competition will give doodlers the chance to win an Apple iPad. All winners will have their work displayed in the doodle Hall of Fame on the National Doodle Day website.
A separate competition also gives pupils the chance to win some fantastic prizes for their school. Businesses, clubs and societies are also being encouraged to hold their own National Doodle Day competitions to be eligible to win one of the top prizes in the individual's competition.
For the second year in a row, National Doodle Day has teamed up with the Dodo Pad – publishers of quirky, humorous diaries and organisers that invite the user to doodle. Lord Dodo, founder and inventor of the Dodo Pad, has kindly agreed to feature a National Doodle Day entry form within the 2012 Dodo Pad and Acad-Pad diaries. Like last year’s winners, Dodo Pad doodlers also have the opportunity to have their doodle featured in a future edition of the Dodo Pad diary and/or the Acad-Pad diary.
Philippa Cartwright, fundraising events manager at Epilepsy Action, said: “National Doodle Day has gone from strength to strength since it began in 2004, raising a total of £200,000. The money raised from this year’s event will help support people affected by epilepsy. It’s 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 half a million people living with this complex neurological condition. So please put your pen to paper and get doodling!”
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 25 March 2011. There is a suggested minimum donation of £1 for each entry. Cheques should be made payable to National Doodle Day and submitted to National Doodle Day, c/o Epilepsy Action, FREEPOST LS0995, Leeds, LS19 7YY.
To find out more about National Doodle Day, visit www.nationaldoodleday.org.uk or call 0113 210 8800.