Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster have promised “lots of little connections” to them at a charity evening for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
The couple have invited 180 guests to the Memories that Matter event in London and hope to raise as much as a £1 million. Billed as a private dinner party, they have designed the cocktails, drawn-up the menu and Stewart will perform live.
Model and photographer Lancaster, who has two sons with Stewart aged eight and 13, told the Evening Standard that teenagers often face lots of difficulties without the added trauma of cancer. She said: “Since our boy has just turned into a teenager he’s come along to a couple of charity events. You think teenagers are going through so much as it is… and the idea of having to deal with cancer on top as well — I could not think of anything worse.”
The night revolves around a silent auction with prizes including a trip to jewellery firm Swarovski’s HQ in the Austrian Alps and dinner at the Ritz with Rod and Penny. Other prizes include memorabilia from Celtic, Stewart’s favourite club, a print by his former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood and a five-night stay in a castle in Umbria, Italy, donated by Evening Standard proprietor Evgeny Lebedev.
The fundraiser on November 22 is the idea of marketing expert Mark Aldridge, who plans to make it a regular event. The Trust’s chief executive Kate Collins said: “Every day, seven young people, aged 13-24, are diagnosed with cancer.
“Teenage Cancer Trust’s specialist nurses, hospital wards and support teams work hard to help young people and their families cope with the huge impact that a cancer diagnosis and treatment has on their lives. But none of this work would be possible without our wonderful supporters.”
