Nicole Scherzinger and Keeley Hawes fronting new UNICEF campaign for Commonwealth Games

Pop star Nicole Scherzinger and British actress Keeley Hawes have thrown their support behind a new UNICEF fundraising campaign for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The pair has joined forces with British cycling icon Sir Chris Hoy, retired Manchester United soccer manager Sir Alex Ferguson, and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar for the Put Children First initiative, which aims to save and change the lives of millions of kids living in poverty across the Commonwealth.

The campaign will be launched at the Games' Opening Ceremony in Scotland next month (Jul14), with the stars calling on fans to donate to the Children of the Commonwealth Fund.

In a promotional trailer for the campaign, Scherzinger is shown visiting disabled kids in Guyana. She says of the trip, "It was wonderful to see how UNICEF is transforming children's lives. I had the blessing of meeting children with disabilities who for most of their lives had been stuck at home or in schools without any accessible or welcoming outdoor space. But now, these children have somewhere safe to play and I could see they had hope and happiness in their lives. And that means everything.

"The Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony is going to be so exciting. Come on everyone, put 23rd July in your diaries, and tune in to help Keeley, Sachin, Sir Chris, Sir Alex, me, and many, many more, make the Commonwealth Games a life-changing moment for children. Together, wherever we are in the world, we can make sure children come first."

An estimated one billion viewers around the globe are expected to tune in for the Opening Ceremony when the sporting event kicks off on 23 July (14).