Annie Lennox has donated handwritten Sweet Dreams lyrics to the Sandpiper Trust in support of its Every Second Counts fundraising extravaganza

The Every Second Counts campaign aims to raise £40,000 to fund an additional ten emergency responders to join its growing network of life-savers. Central to the fundraiser is its recently launched online auction which is open to the public. As one of the world’s best-selling music artists, Annie Lennox’s generous gift is expected to attract much attention. Sandpiper Trustee, Claire Maitland MBE, said: “A number of years ago, my husband Robin and I were delighted to be introduced to Annie at a mutual friends’ wedding.

“We struck up a conversation and quickly recognised a common passion for making a difference, through SING and the Annie Lennox Foundation in Annie’s case and Sandpiper in mine. I recall her genuine interest in our cause and her offer of support is one which I am honoured to accept now.” She added: “Three years ago, my husband Robin became unwell and on hearing of his illness, Annie kindly took the time to write to Robin. We now jokingly refer to them as pen pals, which is really lovely. It makes her donation of handwritten “Sweet Dreams” lyrics seem so apt and I cannot express how grateful we are for her support and allowing us to put her words under the hammer.”

The online auction can be viewed at www.everysecondcountsauction.org and it will close tomorrow night (Thursday, October 11), however it will reopen on Friday evening during a special fundraising dinner to be held at the Marcliffe Hotel in Aberdeen. The campaign is being backed by Sandpiper Patron, Gavin Hastings, and comedian Fred MacAulay who will host the Every Second Counts dinner.