Pushing the Envelope

Stars for National Literary Trust

Celebrity Charities – A host of British stars will be joining the seventh annual Pitney Bowes Pushing the Envelope campaign, designed to benefit the United Kingdom’s National Literacy Trust.

From actors like Stephen Fry, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren and Simon Pegg to the members of Coldplay and many more, these celebrities will each design an envelope, a one-off work of original artwork, which will be auctioned on eBay from March 12-22. Proceeds from the event benefit the National Literacy Trust, an organization that works in disadvantaged communities across the U.K. to help people improve their reading, writing, and comprehension skills.

This year’s theme for Pushing The Envelope is “Inspiration.” Mirren, for example, interpreted the assignment quite literally, as her purple drawing shows a woman pushing the left edge of the envelope.

Author David Nicholls, who wrote 2010′s Galaxy Book of the Year–the captivating and ultimately heart-breaking One Day–filled his envelope with 16 first lines from his favorite books.

As Jonathan Douglass, director of the National Literacy Trust stated, “Every penny raised from the Pushing the Envelope campaign makes a difference to our work in disadvantaged communities across the UK…The money will provide children with books of their own for the first time or help struggling teenagers gain the communication skills they need for the workplace. Raising the literacy levels of children and families in need will help them to enjoy better opportunities throughout life.”

Bidding begins on March 12. Until the live auction link is posted, follow Pushing the Envelope’s Facebook page for updates.

Read more at Look to the Stars and Pushing the Envelope.