"That was probably taking my job a little bit too
far," she remembers. "I was very happy to be driv-
ing the pink car but I was in a field of high-risk
sports people. I had fun until I realised I was in a
field of dodgem cars!"
lies. "Having ambassadors is a good way to attract
attention to the cause," says Breast Cancer Net-
work spokesperson Jaki Colgan. "We have been so
fortunate to have people involved who are really
passionate and really want to help." The network
has been in overdrive since the tragic early passing
of Jane McGrath after an 11-year battle with the
disease. "We have a network of 29,000 members
and have had a lot of cause about secondary can-
cers something that it's harder to get the mes-
sage out about," she adds. "Kate Ceberano appeals
to everyone and is passionate about what she does.
She's a wonderful example. She drove the car to
help gain media interest in [the Breast Cancer Net-
work Australia's] work."
look at whether they would represent the demo-
graphic. And we know that we wouldn't jeopardise
the strong membership base we have with some-
one who could be dangerous [to the Breast Cancer
Network's profile]."
appointed its Victorian ambassador ), the breast
cancer awareness charities and foundations in
Australia feed each other's members with the in-
formation they need it isn't a competition.
public personality who has, in recent months, borne
the brunt of vicious criticism in the media for her
alleged behaviour on an entertainment tour of Iraq
and Afghanistan. Though she has vigorously denied
the claims made against her, Zaetta was nonethe-
less front page news, and for all the wrong reasons.
It is here that the sensitive relationship between
charities and celebrities can come unstuck.
rated on the delicacy of the situation. "All you have
as a charity is trust, and if that's broken, you're
sunk," says the source. Celebrity association can
be an incredible asset but can also do an extraor-
dinary amount of damage.
manitarian trips to the world's hot spots. There
was the case of a popular young actress who was
flown abroad, only to fly straight back when the
car and hotel weren't to her liking, it was too hot
and there were too many flies. And the singer who
was reportedly not contactable when he had no
product of his own to promote. In 2002 British
publicist Max Clifford admitted that he encour-
aged his celebrity clients to do charity work even
if they didn't want to. He added in an interview
with The Observer at the time that if they really
cared about the subject, that was a great bonus,
but sadly this was not always the case.
believes in the cause. The more genuine and pas-
sionate the support from a celebrity, the greater
their impact will be." she adds that the increased
media interest fostered by a celebrity alignment
has definitely led to increased donations to Kids
Helpline. And at the end of the day, that's what
matters. More than 610,000 children and young
people attempted to reach the telephone and on-
line counselling services offered by Kids Helpline
in the past year and because of the limited resourc-
es available, only half of these cries for help were
answered. It's in the awareness-raising area (and
its cousin, the fund-raiser) that the golden seal of
the right celebrity endorsement can help.
that's what we, the consum-
er, are interested in. They
have the ability to turn our
heads and switch us on to
what's going on in the world
beyond our back door. When,
as in Kate Ceberano's case, it
is done with passion, convic-
tion and a tireless energy that
she is famous for, it's a won-
derfully positive partnership.
"My mother-in-law is a breast
cancer survivor and I cer-
tainly feel a kinship with Kylie
Minogue after what she went
through," says Ceberano. "I
like to get behind the things I
believe in, and assist with rais-
ing finance."