Stars help Horsforth girl, 13, to a new triumph as night of fashion raises £3,440 (From Ilkley Gazette)

Stars help Horsforth girl, 13, to a new triumph as night of fashion raises £3,440

5:27pm Friday 8th March 2013 in Local news By Annette McIntyre

Celebrities, designers and a 13-year-old schoolgirl joined forces to raise thousands of pounds for sick children.

A fashion show in Leeds on Thursday raised £3,440 for the charity Bethany’s Smile, set up by Horsforth teenager Bethany Hare.

The show, hosted by BBC news presenter Ellie Crisell and Harry Potter actor Matthew Lewis, easily beat its original £3,000 target.

It was choreographed by Han Claxton Payne, a world-renowned professional dancer and recording artist who danced with George Michael at the Brit Awards and MOBO Awards. Students of the Scala performing arts school were among the models.

Bethany said: “Styles For Smiles was so much more than anything I expected when I first began planning my charity fashion show. The collections from the designers and retailers were all gorgeous and the child and adult models were all fantastic. I can’t wait for Styles For Smiles 2014.”

Bethany’s long-term aim is to raise £300,000 to build Smile Cottage, where families can go and spend quality time when they are faced with the news that their child has a very short life expectancy.

Patron of Bethany’s Smile Foundation is actor Matthew Lewis, who played Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter film series and whose other credits include BBC 1 hit The Syndicate and Our Boys in London’s West End.

He said: “I was so pleased to be able to help Bethany at the Styles for Smiles Fashion Show. It was a great night and raised a lot of money towards the Smile Cottage. Everyone worked so hard to bring the evening together and although auctioneering isn’t really my forte, I was thrilled to make my debut for the evening.”

Bethany began fundraising three years ago when she dressed as Charlie Chaplin to sing in a video. The recording brought donations from all over the world after she was banned from singing the song Smile because of copyright reasons.

Since then she has raised more than £34,000 for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses through events including her Walk of Smiles.  Donations to Bethany’s Smile go towards Martin House Children’s Hospice and other selected charities supporting children with life- threatening conditions, along with supporting families directly with care outside the hospice environment.