be auctioned online through the Elle website to raise funds for the charity. Prime Minister’s wife Sarah Brown is patron of the charity.
The online auction, hosted by Buy Once Give Twice, will be on until the 5th December. The 30 handbags, donated by designers including Gucci, Prada, Fendi, Roberto Cavalli, Emilio Pucci, Alexander McQueen and Marni, are worth almost £30,000. Ninety per cent of all funds raised throughout the auction will be donated to the White Ribbon Alliance.
Elle Editor-in-Chief Lorraine Candy commented: “In some parts of India, women say goodbye to their children and family before they give birth – such is the risk they will die. It is unbearable to think that this is happening in this day and age, when something as simple as a £2 sterile birth kit could save their lives. Supplying midwives with flip-flops will help save lives; getting mobile phones to remote villages will help save lives. The WRA is an effective and female-focused charity, which makes an immediate difference in any of the areas it works in.”
For the current December issue of Elle, legendary photographer Gilles Bensimon joined the magazine’s campaign. He took an exclusive set of photographs featuring celebrities and their best friends demonstrating the importance of close relationships. Celebrities featured include Kelly Osbourne with boyfriend Luke Worrall, actresses Anna Friel, Tamsin Egerton and Milla Jovovich among others. The nine Smile photos will be auctioned at a later date to raise money for the charity.
Every year, 500,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth and nearly all those deaths are preventable. Elle is working with Sarah Brown and the White Ribbon Alliance to help save those lives in future. For the future Elle is looking to collaborate on a number of other projects and initiatives with the White Ribbon Alliance.
