Martha doodles her bit for charity

Martha has been joined by household names including Sir Michael Parkinson, Bill Nighy, Jackie Collins and John Bishop in doodling for the annual event. National Doodle Day, which is supported by Dodo Pad, publishers of the original family ‘doodle’ diary, aims to get as many people doodling as possible. The event raises money to help support the 8,000 people across West Sussex with epilepsy.

Over 1,200 celebrities, including Mary Berry, Joanna Lumley, Rita Ora and Sophie Dahl have taken part in National Doodle Day since it began eleven years ago.

Members of the public can also get in on the act by creating their own masterpiece and donating a pound to Epilepsy Action. There will be prizes for the best doodlers including arts and crafts vouchers and custom-made 3D doodles.

Philippa Cartwright, fundraising events manager at Epilepsy Action said: “Every year we are overwhelmed with the positive support that we receive from celebrities and members of the public alike. The celebrity doodle auction is always a terrific success, raising thousands of pounds in much-needed funds for Epilepsy Action. The highest-grossing doodle ever raised £1,600 alone, so this event really does make a huge difference to people with epilepsy and their families.”

Information on the National Doodle Day celebrity auction and competition can be found at nationaldoodleday.org.uk. The auction will run from Friday 7 March to Sunday 16 March 2014. The closing date for entries into the National Doodle Day competition is Friday 4 April 2014.

Epilepsy affects around one in every 100 people in the UK alone and 87 people are diagnosed with the condition every day. Each year Epilepsy Action directly helps around one million people through a range of services, including its Epilepsy Helpline freephone 0808 800 5050, branch network, specialist nurse scheme and award-winning website, epilepsy.org.uk

Report and picture contributed by Epilepsy Action.