Avengers: Endgame co-stars Zoe Saldana and Benedict Cumberbatch are teaming up to read short stories written by children for a new podcast benefitting coronavirus relief efforts in Africa.
Jeff Daniels, David Oyelowo, Rachel Brosnahan, Thandie Newton, Russell Brand, and Chiwetel Ejiofor will also be taking part in Yahoo’s STOR14S series, which will feature a different celebrity in each episode, reading winning submissions from a recent Yahoo writing competition to encourage kids’ creativity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cumberbatch will help to kick off the series on Thursday (June 18, 2020), reading a piece called Jack’s Dream by Chantal Jackson-Barchan.
STOR14S was created in collaboration with officials at the GEANCO Foundation in an effort to “take families on an adventure that transports them out of their homes to exciting, new places”.
The 14-part podcast will also boost funds for GEANCO’s coronavirus relief work, providing personal protective equipment and other medical essentials to health centers in Nigeria, as well as donating tablets pre-loaded with hundreds of books to children isolated in their villages.
GEANCO ambassador Oyelowo says of the venture: “I am really happy to be lending my voice to this creative effort to support GEANCO’s critically important coronavirus initiatives in Nigeria, through the power of storytelling.
“I’m also delighted that my friends from the entertainment industry have joined me in bringing attention to a continent that is especially vulnerable to the effects of this pandemic.”
New episodes of the podcast will be released every Monday and Thursday. Listen here.
