The Doctor Who Appreciation Society has published a new, book, Pets in Times in support of the animal charity the RSPCA. 

The animal welfare sector has faced serious challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the book, you can join actors, writers and production crew from the world of Doctor Who as they relate moving and hilarious stories about their own very special pets.

This A5, 140-page book is in full colour and costs £10 including delivery.

To order Pets in Time, visit the online store via the website dwasonline.co.uk

A Doctor Who superfan, who has raised over £16,000 for charity, has had the chance to meet one of his heroes, Tom Baker.

Louis Moorhouse has been blind since he was 18 months old. A few weeks ago he launched a fundraising campaign on Crowd Funder in an attempt to raise £15,000 to make it possible for a charity, Living Paintings, to make a set of Touch to See books which will bring him and other blind and partially sighted people closer to the world of Doctor Who.

Having reached his first fundraising target Louis is now looking to raise £25,000 to support the charity that has helped him since he was two years old.

Louis says of his motivation to carry on with the campaign:

Louis and Living Paintings have been overwhelmed by the support shown by the Doctor Who community and this week he had the chance to meet one of his favourite Doctors on Zoom.

As well as support from Baker, Louis has received messages of support from Sir Derek Jacobi, Sylvester McCoy and David Bradley as well as the current showrunner Chris Chibnall who said

 

You follow Louis campaign on Twitter and Facebook

The Doctor Who Appreciation Society is auctioning a piece of Alister Pearson’s artwork from the Keeper of Traken audio book to raise funds for the Anthony Nolan Trust.

This charity was chosen by the Master himself Geoffrey Beevers. 

Obverse Books have announced two new charity anthologies

 

The Curse of Fanfic

Rraising funds for Parkinson's UK.

Available to order now, with the usual limited window for ordering (until 1st September),

Between these covers you’ll find such unexpected bedfellows as Basil Brush and Larry Grayson, Steve Zodiac and the Alien Facehuggers, Doomwatch and Tomorrow’s World, Inspector Gadget and the Cybermen, and many more.

Edited by Paul Castle, creator of legendary fanzine Shooty Dog Thing, with new fiction from the likes of Iain McLaughlin, Paul Magrs, John Dorney and many others!

 

Available for ordering until 1st September 2020.

 

Forgotten Lives

A short story anthology from Obverse Books in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK
 

For many years, Doctor Who has implied that the Doctor William Hartnell played was the Time Lord’s first incarnation – but there has always been room for doubt. In 1976’s The Brain of Morbius, we were given glimpses of eight stern-faced men in assorted historical costumes – Doctors before the one we know as the first.What were they like, these forgotten Doctors? What worlds did they visit, and what adventures did they have there? Who were their companions, and who were their enemies?And perhaps just as interesting – what sort of stories would this forgotten prehistory of Doctor Who have told?

 

Forgotten Lives seeks to answer those questions, while raising money to benefit research into preventing and curing the loss of memory and identity that human longevity brings.

Featuring stories from Aditya Bidikar, Simon Bucher-Jones, Kara Dennison, Paul Driscoll, Andrew Hickey, Philip Purser-Hallard, and others, and artwork by Paul Hanley

 

Forgotten Lives will be published in late 2020, with pre-orders open in the autumn!

Doctor Who fans from around the world have joined forces to raise funds for Scope, the disability equality charity. 

The Doctor Who/comedy improv podcast Doctor Who's Line, is it?....Anyway!!! has released a special episode to try to raise funds for the National Health Service through the nhscharitiestogether.co.uk page.

Jodie Whittaker has joined Brian Cox and Ewan McGregor to support the Geeky T-Shirt awareness drive and fundraiser for a charity helping terminally children in Scotland.

The current Doctor is helping launch a nationwide appeal for Children’s Hospices Across Scotland – better known as CHAS, a charity which provides vital hospice care services throughout Scotland to support the whole family.

As part of the Share Your Joy campaign, on Monday, May the Fourth, CHAS are encouraging the public to show allegiance to their favourite science-fiction, fantasy, cartoon or musical hero and by virtue the charity itself, by digging out their favourite geeky t-shirt to wear on the day. Thousands of supporters around the country have a CHAS shirt in the cupboard from a past or postponed event; CHAS asks them to wear it with pride for the day and share it with the hashtag #MayThe4thBeWithCHAS.

In order to help support the ongoing physical and new virtual hospice services provided to CHAS families, who are dealing with the most difficult of circumstances at the most impossible of times, participants are encouraged to share their efforts online and donate just £3 by texting ‘Geeky 3’ to 70450.

Laura Campbell, Community Fundraising Development Manager at CHAS, said On the evening of the 4th, The Big Geeky Quiz will be hosted by CBeebies actor James Mackenzie, who has gone on a Saharan trek and been heavily involved in fundraising for the charity throughout the last year. Questions will come from Ewan McGregor and many other figures from the worlds of Star Wars, Disney and beyond.

Now in its third year, support for last year’s Geeky T-Shirt day came from a trio of Scottish greats: Peter Capaldi, Brian Cox and Billy Boyd. The funds and awareness raised by the online event will help CHAS on its mission to reach every single baby, child and young person who needs them, despite the current situation.

Like many other charities left reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, CHAS has had to dramatically transform the way in which it provides its increasingly important services. They have set up Scotland’s first-ever virtual hospice to support children and families who are having to completely self-isolate.

The virtual hospice is now four weeks in, offering families extensive support, whether it relates to clinical guidance, financial advice or bereavement support, by video and phone. CHAS family support teams are also offering an expanding range of interactive activities, art clubs, storytelling and conference calls to children and parents, with more in the pipeline.

Although stringent measures are currently in place to safeguard families, those needing urgent physical and end of life care are still welcome at the hospice, where staff work tirelessly to provide children with the palliative assistance they need.

Jodie Whittaker supports Geeky T-Shirt Day 2020

Ten Doctors will take part in the BBC charity show The Big Night In later today on BBC One - a collaboration between the BBC's regular charity appeals Children in Need and Comic Relief. The event as a whole will run from 7pm until 10pm on BBC One.

The charity show will raise money for those on the front line dealing with the COVID-19 virus and pay tribute to all the unsung heroes trying to support their communities.

Hosted by Lenny Henry, who appeared in the last series of Doctor Who, the BBC One show will bring a night of comedy, music and live entertainment from the studio, linking up with a multitude of stars from their houses for an unmissable night.

The Doctors have recorded a message thanking front-line staff for their work during the coronavirus crisis. It will be broadcast just before the weekly Clap For Carers at 20:00 BST. Taking part are Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, David Tennant, Matt Smith Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker and Jo Martin.

Also appearing in the show is Matt Lucas, who joins former partner David Walliams in the first Little Britain sketch on TV for a decade, and Catherine Tate who bring reprises schoolgirl Lauren, currently struggling with being remotely educated by her teacher, played by David Tennant.

The three-hour show will aim to raise millions of pounds for vulnerable people around the UK who have been affected by the pandemic. The government has pledged to match all public donations, with a minimum of £20 million.

The programme also promises to "celebrate the acts of kindness, humour and the spirit of hope and resilience that is keeping the nation going".

The Doctor Who Appreciation Society is raising funds for Save the Children in memory of Terrance Dicks - a charity chosen by his family.

Andrew Skilliter, Chris Achellios, Alister Pearson and Jeff Cummins have allowed DWAS to produce four art cards based on their work for Target books. These are now available to buy from the eBay store, along with a ‘Terrance’ badge and the special Terrance Dicks Tribute magazine, published in October 2019.

The cost for the art card set and badge is £5-95 and the set plus the magazine is £7-45.

Full details here