THOSE Strawberry Kisses must be turning someone on.

Jeans belonging to Nikki Webster, the star of the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony, fetched more than $22,000 in the Jeans for Genes auction to raise money for research into children’s genetic diseases.

Despite international stars including Dustin Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Barbra Streisand and Kylie Minogue all donating jeans, which were then painted by artists – it was Webster’s that fetched the highest price.

Painted by local artist David Boyd, they were by far the most popular item of the night and helped take the total amount raised to $230,000.

Hoffman’s jeans, painted by Paul Newton, were the second most popular, fetching $15,600 in the auction held at the Regent Hotel in Sydney on Saturday night.

The money raised at the annual auction goes to the Children’s Medical Research Institute in Sydney’s west to help find the causes of genetic diseases that affect 1 in 20 children.

The Westmead-based institute researches the causes of illnesses such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy and leukaemia.

Every year the first Friday of August is Jeans for Genes Day. This year is the eighth national Jeans for Genes Day. People around the country are asked to don their jeans and buy a badge or make a donation next Friday.

In the last seven years Australians have donated more than $15 million to the cause and last year alone $3.5 million was raised.

Organisers hope to improve on that figure this year and raise $4 million.

Source: Herald Sun