Amy Dowden has been flooded with messages of praise and support as she made an announcement linked to suffering from an 'invisible illness'.
The Strictly Come Dancing star has been living with Crohn’s Disease since she was a teenager, and earlier this year, she was formally made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her work as a Crohn’s & Colitis UK ambassador.
Now, Amy teamed up with Crohn’s & Colitis UK to launch a range of merchandise raising awareness of Inflammatory Bowel Disease which affects more than half a million people in the UK.
The Amy Dowden X Crohn’s & Colitis UK: It Takes Courage range of t-shirts and tote bags is on sale from today, May 19th, which is World IBD Day.
Amy’s design features one of her favourite flowers, the sweet pea, surrounded by purple hearts, which are symbols of the Crohn’s and Colitis community worldwide. Every item will be printed to order by Everpress Ltd and a minimum of 20% of the sales (excluding VAT) during the campaign will be donated to Crohn’s & Colitis UK.
"Raising awareness is vital and it takes real courage to live with Crohn's or Colitis every day, so I wanted to celebrate that with this design," Amy said in a statement.
"I'm so proud to be an ambassador for Crohn's & Colitis UK. I'd say to anyone else with Inflammatory Bowel Disease that you might feel overwhelmed sometimes, but you're not alone. There's so much strength in the Crohn's & Colitis UK community and it's such an amazing charity."
She also shared a message in a post shared by Crohn's & Colitis UK as she modelled the T-shirt range on Monday (May 19): "As it’s World IBD Day, there’s no better time to share some exciting news.
"I’m so proud to have been invited to collaborate with @crohnsandcolitisUK to design their mfirst ever merchandise drop! This artwork means a lot to me, as I know all to well that it takes courage to live with IBD.
"I want to help Crohn’s & Colitis UK spread the message, and now you can too! Our collaboration pieces are now live and available for pre-order. A minimum of 20% of the sales (excluding VAT) of the campaign will be donated by Everpress Limited to Crohn’s & Colitis UK.
"Order your own by going to the link in the @crohnsandcolitisuk bio, under ‘World IBD day’ click ‘Amy Dowden x Crohn’s & Colitis UK’ or visit www.everpress.com/profile/crohn-s-colitis-uk. I hope you love it as much as I do!"
And the messages of support came flooding in. @angelinaballerina1607 said: "So proud of you, can't wait to get my hands on some." @tracey.lewis2018 commented: "Brilliant partnership @crohnsandcolitisuk Well done Looks fab and wearable while raising positive awareness
@ibdsucks.withina wrote: "Oh I love it." @countrylifewith__jo replied: "Beautiful @amy_dowden and fab attire." @amysdowdenn added: "Love these so cute."
