Celebrity News

Ed Sheeran auctions artwork for New Zealand Child Cancer Foundation

The ‘Shape of You’ singer is doing his part to raise funds for the Child Cancer Foundation.

Ed Sheeran has created his very own superhero alter-ego called ‘Super Ginge’ to be auctioned off for his New Zealand charity of choice – the Child Cancer Foundation.

A framed drawing of Super Ginge, created and autographed by Ed, is now available for auction on TradeMe along with a model of the superhero character and a copy of his latest album ÷ on vinyl.

The current bid stands at $1,070 with the auction closing at 8pm on Wednesday, May 10.

“Every time I visited children with cancer in hospitals, it’s always struck me how brave the people that look after them are, as well as the actual kids themselves – and I think it’s important to keep supporting charities like that,” Ed said of the reason why he chose the Child Cancer Foundation.

Robyn Kiddle, chief executive of the foundation, told Newshub that Ed’s actions were part of what the charity is all about.

“Hearing him talk about the need to support the brave people who help children with cancer, for me that describes our Family Support Coordinators and the volunteers we have in the community nationwide.

“They work to ensure these children and families always feel supported when walking the cancer journey.”

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This isn’t the first time the “Castle On The Hill” singer has lent his support to an important cause.

Last month, Ed reached out to the family of six-year-old Ollie Carroll, who has a rare degenerative condition known as Batten Disease, to invite them to come backstage at his Manchester show.

Ollie – joined by mum Lucy, Dad Mike, sister Amelia (who also has Battens) and brothers Micky and Danny – “lit up” when he met Ed, his mum revealed.

“Ed is one of the loveliest guys we have ever met, he asked us to explain Batten Disease and Ollie’s Army. He was truly saddened by our journey. To us, last night Ollie wasn’t meeting a star, he was meeting ‘his’ star, he was meeting the man that taught him the power and love of music,” she wrote on Facebook.

“As parents we can not thank Ed, his team and every single person who shared Ollie’s video enough. Our dying boy wished to meet his hero, that wish was granted.”

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