LOS ANGELES:

Jessica Alba, Padma Lakshmi and Alicia Keys are asking Americans to save their pennies to save a child’s life. “I am doing a hundred things,” says Lakshmi, a chef, cookbook writer, model and occasional actor. “But I think I find a few things to be as passionate about as doing something for children.”

She is among half-a-dozen celebrities involved in the ‘Good Cents Initiative’ — a campaign by the AIDS charity ‘Keep a Child Alive’. Model Iman also appears in the series of ads, which appear in glossy magazines throughout America. The women, most of them dressed in black, pose against the headline — A dollar saves a life.

While the 26-year-old Alba, who is smiling in a drizzle of pennies, represents a younger generation, Lakshmi, 37, and Iman, David Bowie’s 52-year-old wife, appeal to an older generation. “I don’t wake up looking glamorous”, Lakshmi — the former wife of author Salman Rushdie — is seen kneeling in front of an oversized US penny.

“As celebrities we have unique opportunities to bring about a change and make an impact,” Lakshmi says. “I think it is a great challenge and it also gives one a lot of satisfaction.”