Star Wars' fundraising force awakens

Four UK charities are set to benefit froma fundraising campaign on the back of the new Star Wars film.

Barnardo’s, Make a Wish, the Samaritans and the Damilola Taylor Trust are just four of 14 charities in the UK and USA that will benenfit from the campaign run by the website Omaze.

Last year Omaze chose Unicef as its only recipient in a competition in which a lucky person was given the opportunity to star in the film, generating over US$4m for the charity.

Omaze works by offering tickets and products related to the new Star Wars: A Force Awakens film. Names of donors are put into a lucky dip with one winner getting a chance to go the film’s premier on 17 December.

A spokeswoman for Barnardo’s said it hopes to receive somewhere in the region of £200,000.

“Omaze is a unique fundraising concept that doesn’t currently exist in the UK,” the spokeswoman said.

Chief executive of Barnardo's, Javed Khan, said it was a “fantastic opportunity for Barnardo’s.

“Money raised through this amazing initiative will help the most disadvantaged and vulnerable young people in the UK to have a successful working life, regardless of the difficulties they've faced,” he said.

Barnardo’s ambassador Andy Serkis, who nominated the charity to be an Omaze recipient, said: “I had absolutely no hesitation in nominating Barnardo's as my charity, I've seen for myself the brilliant work they do around employment, training and skills and the bright future that this can help build for the young people they support."