Cape Town - Actress, presenter and model Vanessa Haywood, who was recently voted by FHM as one the world’s 100 sexiest women, will take part in the Big 5 Challenge at the Knysna Oyster Festival.

She aims to raise much needed funds for children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/Aids in South Africa.  The Big 5 Challenge starts on 2 July and will see Vanessa participating in five gruelling sports activities. 

“Money raised by competing in this nutty week of sports events will go to Starfish Greathearts Foundation,” says Haywood.

Exercise, the great outdoors and caring for less fortunate South African children are amongst her many passions and this year she will really put her heart into challenging other celebrities, personalities and corporate personalities to improve on her accomplishments during the event.

The Big 5 Challenge five sports activities are namely the Knysna Forest Marathon, the 15km Featherbed Trail Run, the 100km road biking challenge, the 50km Rotary Knysna Cycle Tour and the Duesouth Xterra off-road duathlon.

Renowned for her role in the Oscar-nominated movie District 9, Vanessa recently returned from the UK where she completed filming The Sweet Shop alongside Gemma Atkinson and Matthew Lewis, who plays Neville in the Harry Potter movie series. She was recently also featured on the covers of magazines like Elle and Runner’s World.

Despite her heavy workload she still manages to find time for charities like Starfish Greathearts Foundation.

“Starfish Greathearts Foundation was an easy choice for me. They are a well-known organisation that serves a great cause. I lost a very special friend to Aids and I want to do as much as I can to make people aware of this terrible scourge. I intend to help Starfish raise awareness about HIV/Aids and raise much needed funds for affected children. They don't get any help from government and rely entirely on private funding,” she explains.

Vanessa is encouraging individuals and corporations to get involved with this great cause. Sponsors can get involved in a number of ways; by donating products/ equipment or funds to Vanessa for the weeklong event, or by pledging Vanessa's challenge by donating to Starfish. To donate or for more information visit http://www.starfishcharity.org/.

Follow Vanessa on Twitter (@VanHaywood) as she trains and prepares for the race as well as during the challenge.



Vanessa Haywood ready to tackle the Big 5 Challenge (File)