The Harry Potter actor has become an ambassador for the Starlight Children's Foundation, a charity that grants wishes for seriously unwell and terminally ill children. Grint decided to work with the charity after attending its annual Christmas party last December at 11 Downing Street, where he met nine-year-old Calum Wilson (pictured with Grint), who suffers from neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes tumours to grow along the person's nerves. "I am delighted to become a Starlight ambassador and I look forward to doing more to support this wonderful charity," the actor said of his new role.
The Prime Minister, David Cameron, and the EastEnders actor Danny Dyer have both lent their voices to Forever, the official First World War centenary album in support of military charities.
Cameron has recorded the war poem The Soldier by Rupert Brooke, while Dyer read In Memoriam by Ewart Alan Mackintosh. Forty pence from the sale of each album, which contains spoken words and music, will be donated to the Royal British Legion and the Victoria Cross Trust, which looks after the graves of recipients of Britain's highest military honour. Decca Records, which is producing the album, will also donate £10,000 to the Royal British Legion and an unspecified amount to the Victoria Cross Trust.
Hope for Tomorrow, a charity that seeks to make more cancer treatments available at local level, has appointed two patrons from the world of motor racing. Ross Brawn, a former Formula One team principal for Mercedes, and Martin Brundle, the former Formula One driver and motor racing television presenter, have joined fellow motor sport legend Sir Stirling Moss as patrons of the charity. "Most of us have been affected by cancer in one way or another, either directly or with loved ones," Brawn said about his reasons for becoming a patron.
The actors Peter Capaldi, Lisa Faulkner and Richard E Grant, the children's author Jacqueline Wilson and the children's television presenter Cerrie Burnell have all written personal pledges in support of the children's charity Coram. The charity was created by royal charter in 1739 and celebrates its 275th anniversary this year. Faulkner adopted her daughter through Coram, and Wilson has written a series of books about a foundling child.
