OTHER CHARITY WORK
Home-Start
Myleene will be presenting BBC1’s Lifeline appeal for Home-Start, to be aired on the 20th July 2008. Lifeline is the BBC's monthly television charity appeal programme. For more than twenty years, Lifeline has helped raised money for and increased the profile of hundreds of charities across the UK and abroad. There have been over 250 appeals so far and almost £6m has been raised for charities.
Speaking about her involvement, Myleene said "As a new parent, I now know how difficult it can sometimes be. Lots of parents struggle to cope, for many reasons and that's where Home-Start steps in. It's a great idea that is so effective, parents supporting other parents in their own homes. I'm really pleased to be presenting a Lifeline appeal for such a worthwhile charity."
Home-Start is the UK’s leading family support charity. It recruits and trains volunteers to support parents with at least one child under the age of five. Home-Start’s home visiting work is unique in the UK. The charity was set up in 1973 and now supports nearly 35,000 families and over 71,000 children each year. Almost 16,000 volunteers visit families in their own homes – parents supporting other parents who are struggling to cope for a variety of reasons including, isolation, bereavement, multiple births, illness, disability and post natal depression.
SPEAC
SPEAC was Myleene's elected charity to receive the proceeds from the money raised by the voters of 'I'm a Celebrity'. SPEAC (Special Provision for the Education of Autistic Children) is a small Northern Ireland charity founded by a group of local parents who, faced with the realities of living with a child with autism, shared a frustration with the lack of appropriate services. The SPEAC received £39,843.48 from the proceeds of the votes from I'm a Celebrity.
Youth Music
In August 2005 Myleene was appointed the first ever ambassador for Youth Music. This is a charity, set up in 1999, which funds diverse music-making facilities for people up to the age of 18, particularly in areas of economic need. In its first five years Youth Music reached nearly 1 million young people and by 2010 it aims to have reached more that 3 million children and young people in a UK-wide strategy to support youth music making. As an Ambassador, Myleene’s duties include hosting singing workshops, and spreading the word about Youth Music to the general public.