Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu reveals she is selling her Dancing On Ice skates
Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu has revealed that she is selling her Dancing On Ice skates to raise money for charity after the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey earlier this year.
The former Love Island star, 28, who is of Turkish descent and lived in Istanbul for two years, visited the country in March after the earthquake that killed more than 59,000 people.
And now she wants to help by selling her skates to raise money for the British Red Cross.
She said in Good Morning Britain on Thursday: ‘Why don’t I donate my skating boots to the British Red Cross and raise some money.
“Instead of them sitting in my attic getting cobwebs, I thought why not sell them better and make some money.”
Child: Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu has revealed that she is selling her Dancing On Ice skates to raise money for charity after the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey earlier this year
In action: Ekin-Su appeared in this year’s series Dancing on Ice with her partner Brendyn Hatfield (pictured)
Elsewhere in the chat, she talked about the plight of the orphans in the region and the fact that she hasn’t been able to keep in touch with some of the people she met there during her visit.
It comes after the beauty – who won the show with beau Davide Sanclimenti last year – revealed in May that she was traumatized by her visit to Turkey and was even thinking about adopting a little girl she met.
Ekin-Su said she met several children on the journey, including some who clung to her and began calling her “mother.”
A young girl begged the star to take her back to the UK after she lost her mother in the earthquake.
Ekin-Su said, “I’d like to take her. It was traumatizing – the whole experience. But once you have one in your house, you want to help them all. I really just want to create awareness. We don’t know how lucky we are to be in the UK.’
The actress also talked about the traumatic events the young girl experienced during the earthquake.
She said, “She doesn’t remember much about the actual event. It was 4am and all of a sudden it was black, everything was shaking, the walls came down and she was screaming ‘mom, mamma, mamma’ and she doesn’t remember anything else.
Support: The former Love Island star, 28, who is of Turkish descent and lived in Istanbul for two years, visited the country in March after the earthquake that killed more than 59,000 people
Touching: Ekin-Su said she met several children on the journey, including some who clung to her and started calling her “mom”
Plan: She said on Good Morning Britain on Thursday: ‘Why don’t I donate my skating boots to the British Red Cross and raise some money’
“I think she also has a little brother and that’s all, she just wants mommy. Anyone who gives her love clings and cannot let go.
“I think she was about four years old, very young.”
The star also revealed that her family in Turkey is living in fear of another earthquake and some of them have been sleeping outside since the disaster.
She said, “They always live their lives in fear of what will happen next, will we be here, will we be dead. That’s what they worry about every day.
‘My father’s side of the family, they sleep outside every day. They’re too scared to go back in.’
Born in Islington, London, to Turkish parents Sezer and Zekai, Ekin-Su lived in Istanbul while starring in Turkish television shows, before returning to the UK.
Her parents moved to the UK and she also has a younger brother Arda.
Raising awareness: Elsewhere in the chat, she talked about the plight of the orphans in the region
Sweet: It comes after the reality star praised her boyfriend Davide for offering her emotional support after the earthquake
The earthquake was the second strongest ever recorded in the country’s history with a death toll of more than 59,000.
It comes after the reality star praised her boyfriend Davide for offering her emotional support after the earthquake.
Speak against Women’s health magazine, she said, “Davide has been wonderfully supportive of me emotionally. I was with him when we heard it and I just couldn’t comprehend the devastation.
“I’ve been following the news since it hit… I hope to visit the affected area with the Red Cross as soon as it’s safe.”