Appeals

A pair of black tap shoes worn by Emma Thompson in Me and My Girl, a black antique beaded evening bag and a black velvet hat worn by Georgina Hale in Summit Conference on either side of a plasticine stress-therapy sculpture made by John Malkovich whilst working in the film Sheltering Sky and an autographed fedora from Michael Jackson. All are contributions to a charity auction to be held at 7pm on Wednesday 31 March in aid of the Marylebone Centre Trust, in London.

Over 50 lots are to be auctioned at Bonhams, Montpelier Street, London, for the trust; other items include conducting batons and recordings from Sir Charles Mackerras, seeds from Germaine Greer's garden, bird drawings and sketches from a colouring book by Bill Oddie, one of Gary Glitter's suits, two massage sessions at the Marylebone Health Centre and various autographed books and photographs.

The trust was formed in 1988 to support the Marylebone Health Centre - an inner-city NHS practice dedicated to whole person care, providing both orthodox and complementary therapies - by developing educational schemes and raising money for some of its community programmes. Money raised from the auction - the trust needs about pounds 20,000 - will be specifically used for programmes focusing on the homeless as well as self-care classes and support groups intended to reduce inner- city isolation and loneliness. In addition, the trust offers educational courses such as stress management workshops, an introduction to massage for health and community care professionals and an MA in Community and Primary Health Care. A database containing details of research on complementary medicine published in English, European and US journals from 1985, and major newspaper articles on the subject, is open to anyone studying complementary medicine. Customised workshops are available for groups wanting to investigate the Marylebone approach.

For further information about the auction and the trust, contact: The Marylebone Centre Trust, 17 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LT, telephone 071-935 6328.

Children of the Andes, a British- based charity formed in 1991, raises money to support the rescue and rehabilitation of street children, aged 1 to 18, living in Colombia. About 5,000 are thought to live in the capital, Bogota, and often they live in fear of persecution and attack; glue-sniffing and other dependencies are common problems for these children. The organisation donates most of its money to the Fundacion Ninos de los Andes, a Colombian charity which runs five different projects in and around Bogota to help the children. The newest is Subachoque Farm, 30 kilometres from the capital, which is being adapted into a detoxification unit. About pounds 150,000 needs to be raised for this new project.

Children of the Andes, Enterprise House, 59/65 Upper Ground, London SE1 9PQ, telephone 071-928 1878.

The Post-Adoption Centre provides counselling for adoptees, adoptive parents and people who have relinquished their child for adoption. Since its creation in 1986, the centre has dealt with 13,000 people: some are parents who are having difficulties with their adopted children, while others seek reunions with their birth- parents. It needs to raise pounds 24,000 for a research project on children who were sexually abused before adoption; and pounds 42,000 for one on families who have adopted children from overseas.

Post-Adoption Centre, 8 Torriano Mews, Torriano Avenue, London NW5 2RZ, telephone 071- 284 0555.

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