Celebrities back Robin's Christmas card fundraising drive

Dec 7 2012 by Jeff Holmes, Paisley Daily Express

A charity champion aims to deliver pots of cash for worthy causes ... by flogging hundreds of Christmas cards which have been signed by celebrities.

Robin Miller snapped up a huge pile of cards in last year’s Boxing Day sales and has so far managed to persuade a staggering 1,000 big names to sign them.

Now he has uploaded them all onto popular auction website eBay, where fans can bid for their own piece of celebrity memorabilia.

Up for grabs are festive cards signed by the likes of Olympic heroes Sir Chris Hoy and Greg Rutherford, pop legends Rod Stewart, Sting and TV stars from hit shows such as Doctor Who, Emmerdale and The Only Way Is Essex.

Footballers from St Mirren, Celtic and Rangers have also teamed up with Robin for the massive fundraising drive.

Robin, who is a former pupil at Paisley Grammar School, laughed: “I got some funny stares when I bought the massive consignment of Christmas cards last Boxing Day and I’ve also been through a few pens as I’ve tracked down celebrities to sign them but it’s all for a good cause.

“The money I raise will go towards helping children who have a serious illness.”

Robin, 30, is coining in cash for the Children With Cancer UK charity and the Maggie’s Centre, as well as continuing his support for Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London, where one of his friends was treated as a youngster.

He has previously run several marathons and 10k races for charity – and has raised thousands of pounds since he started it all off in 2010.

Robin, who originally hails from Barrhead but now lives in Muirend, said: “I started collecting my Christmas card autographs in January, which brought some weird looks, but I couldn’t afford to wait until later in the year.

“I’ve spent a lot of time on this project. It’s all part of my twelveX12 challenge, which involves raising a total of £12,000 in the space of 12 months.

“I’m more than halfway there and hope the eBay auction will take me a good bit closer to achieving my goal.

“It has involved a lot of travelling at times but it has been good fun and I have met a lot of famous people along the way.”

Robin is expecting plenty of interest from bidders who are keen to snap up a little bit of history.

He added: “What could be better than giving someone a signed Christmas card from a celebrity they really like?

“I’ve had amazing support from the people I’ve asked to sign the cards and now I hope to raise as much cash as possible.

“It took an age to list all of the items on eBay but, now that they’re on, I’m able to sit back with a nice glass of wine and watch the pounds roll in for a good cause.”

To help Robin reach his fundraising target, or to find out more details about the live eBay auctions, log on to www.twelveby12. wordpress.com