Epilepsy Action Charity Calling for Oodles of Doodles, UK

Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 09 Feb 2005 - 11:00 PDT


Britain's second National Doodle Day will take place on 25th February 2005, following the unprecedented success of the first National Doodle Day. A countrywide campaign of fun, the initiative aims to get the nation doodling and raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for The Neurofibromatosis Association and Epilepsy Action.

Already a whole host of famous names from the worlds of sport, entertainment, theatre, business and politics have joined forces to encourage the whole country to get doodling. Celebrities who have already doodled include Manolo Blahnik, Robbie Coltrane, Lorraine Kelly, Charles Kennedy MP, Terry Wogan, Tamzin Outhwaite, Nick Park, Ralph Steadman, Richard Wilson and Arsene Wenger, to name a few.

Most of us doodle every day without thinking about it, but by scribbling a doodle of your 'favourite thing' for National Doodle Day, you can raise money for charity and enter a national competition. All individual doodles will be judged and Lloydspharmacy Charitable Fund has donated a prize of £1,000 for the winner. A separate competition open to schools gives entrants the chance to win a computer for their school, donated by Lloydspharmacy Charitable Fund and Elcom, one of the UK's leading IT resellers.

A special website http://www.nationaldoodleday.org.uk has been created to support National Doodle Day, which also includes learning resources aimed at teachers, parents and children. An online auction will be launched on National Doodle Day, giving you the opportunity to get your hands on your favourite celebrity doodle. Bidding will start on eBay on Friday 25th February.

National Doodle Day cards will be on sale, for a minimum donation of £1, in every branch of Lloydspharmacy throughout February. Entering is simple, just draw a doodle of your 'favourite thing' on the back of the card and make sure it's posted to the address provided where it will be submitted into the national competition.

Lloydspharmacy, the UK's No 1 community pharmacy and a familiar name in just about every part of the country, is the official sponsor of National Doodle Day. For the second consecutive year Lloydspharmacy is the sole official outlet for the Doodle Day cards and collector of in-store donations.

Paul Tranter, fundraising manager of Epilepsy Action, said: "National Doodle Day is a really fun way of helping support people with epilepsy and neurofibromatosis. We were thrilled with the support we received last year and would like to thank everyone who doodled for us. Anyone can take part in this event, so we are asking people of all ages and from all walks of life to get doodling!"

Roberta Tweedy, of The Neurofibromatosis Association, said: "National Doodle Day has captured the imagination of the public and celebrities alike and this year's event will help to raise vital funds and increase awareness of two little known conditions."

So don't dawdle, get doodling in February 2005!

ENDS

http://www.nationaldoodleday.org.uk
http://www.lloydspharmacy.co.uk/3-0-0-0.htm (Lloyds Pharmacy Locator)

National Doodle Day cards will be available in Lloydspharmacy outlets from 26th January - 8th March 2005. The closing date for entries to the individual and school competitions is 21st March 2005.

Case studies are available from both charities. Please contact Ingrid Burns or Lucy Rollinson, Epilepsy Action on 0113 210 8800 / press@epilepsy.co.uk

The Neurofibromatosis Association (NfA) is the only UK charity dedicated to the provision of the support for those affected, their families and the professionals concerned with their care. Neurofibromatosis affects 1 in every 2,500 people worldwide and some 25,000 in this country alone. Complications include learning difficulties, behavioural problems, large benign skin tumours, internal spine and brain tumours and also an increased risk of epilepsy. The NfA helps through its national network of local Neurofibromatosis Co-ordinators, by providing up to date and accessible information and by funding research into finding a treatment and ultimately a cure.

Epilepsy Action is the UK's largest member led epilepsy charity with around 18,000 members. Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological condition in the UK affecting 1 in every 133 people. Epilepsy Action aims to improve the quality of life for people with epilepsy, campaigns to improve epilepsy services and achieve widespread understanding of the condition. The charity directly helps more than 365,000 people every year through it's services including its Freephone Epilepsy Helpline (0808 800 5050), website http://www.epilepsy.org.uk, branch network and accredited volunteer scheme.

Lloydspharmacy is the largest community pharmacy operator in the UK with over 1300 pharmacies located primarily in the community and health centres. Lloydspharmacy Charitable Fund launched in February 2001. Raising funds for national and community registered charities.

This press release is also available in Adobe Acrobat PDF and Microsoft Word formats at http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/press/releases.html

http://www.epilepsy.org.uk

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