Puckering up for charity

(Webmaster note:  We did not post a photo from this event because the charity site does not allow the photo to be posted without permission, but to see a photo of Jeremy's lip-print and signature, click here and look for his name - and place a bid if you like!)

Feb 7 2009 by Ben Guy, The Journal

HOLLYWOOD kisses will be auctioned off to raise money for a good cause.

Silver screen superstars including Ewan McGregor, Kate Winslet, Liam Neeson and Helena Bonham-Carter have all puckered up to raise money for a 50-seat cinema in the new children’s hospital at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary.

They have left the imprint of their lips on cards and signed them, and the prints are featured in the window of Newcastle’s famous Fenwick store.

More than 50 signed smackers have been secured by MediCinema, the charity which brings the magic of the big screen to patients, including those in beds and wheelchairs.

They will then be auctioned off later this year.

Ewan McGregor, who is a longstanding patron of MediCinema, said: “I have seen at first-hand how much patients and their families look forward to an all-encompassing cinema experience.”

Other celebrities who have donated their lips to the charity are Bill Nighy, Dame Helen Mirren, Jeremy Irons, Bryan Ferry, Jamie Bell and Lauren Laverne.

The new children’s hospital is due to be finished in 2010, but it is hoped the cinema will be completed later this year.

It will bring together all children’s treatments under one roof. Helen Lamont of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust welcomed the venture. She said: “This is a particularly innovative idea which will significantly enhance a patient’s stay in hospital”.

For more information on the collection of celebrity kisses, visit www.medicinema.org.uk.

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