For Courteney Cox, the fight against the debilitating skin disease epidermolysis bullosa is a personal one.

“My friend’s son was born with EB,” the actress tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I’ve been a part of it since then. He’s 11 now. There is no cure for this disease. It’s just such a horrible thing.”

The condition, which usually strikes babies and children, causes painful skin blisters; there is little hope for those affected beyond the age of 30.

“You have no choice to feel for these kids,” says Cox, 51, who has an 11-year-old daughter, Coco. “The disease is very rare so need to bring awareness.”

The kids fighting EB, who are often called Butterfly Children because of the fragility of their skin, will be honored at the third annual Rock4EB! on Sunday, where Ed Sheeran will perform.

“The kids run around and have a good time,” says Cox. “They’re being honored. It’s for them.”

But she’ll leave the entertainment to the professionals: “No singing for me. There’s no good singing coming out of my mouth!”

Courteney Cox loved Kodaline’s new single so much she didn’t just direct the music video for it – she filmed it at her house and appeared in it, too!

PEOPLE has an exclusive first look at Irish band’s video for “Love Will Set You Free,” a song co-written by Cox’s fiancé, Snow Patrol rocker Johnny McDaid.

“When Johnny first played me ‘Love Will Set You Free,’ I was blown away. The song is incredibly beautiful,” Cox, 51, tells PEOPLE. “After hanging out with the guys and getting to know their personalities, I knew I wanted to direct this video and really showcase who they are as individuals and as musicians.”

Kodaline frontman Steve Garrigan says the whole process, from writing to the video, was very organic. He and his bandmates – Vinny May, Jason Boland and Mark Prendergast – had met fellow Irishman McDaid, 39, a few times before they decided to go into the studio together.

“We recorded that song, and we just got really proud of it,” Garrigan, 27, tells PEOPLE, adding: “Courteney just loved the song so much that she decided to do a video for us.”

The music video wasn’t Cox’s first time in the director’s seat or working with her husband-to-be: She directed some episodes of Cougar Town as well as the drama Just Before I Go, which McDaid wrote music for.

Garrigan says Cox’s focus was on “making us feel comfortable” – which she achieved by shooting in her own Malibu home!

“Basically it was just us hangin’ out,” the indie rocker says. “We flew over some of our friends from Dublin and had a few beers and hung out and were messin’ about.”

Garrigan adds working with the star was a breeze, even if there were some jitters at first.

“When we first went up [to the house], we were quite nervous because she’s Courteney Cox: We’re Friends fans. We have the box sets at home, you know?” he says. But, “Courteney’s an incredible person. You go there, and she just makes everybody feel at home. There’s no airs or graces about her. She’s just a nice person.”

As it turns out, Cox isn’t the only one in her family to make a cameo in the clip. Her daughter, 11-year-old Coco (who Garrigan says “stole the show”), and McDaid also appear.

And with Cox and McDaid’s wedding coming up, will Garrigan and his bandmates be working on their big day?

“That would be fun. We’ve actually played a few of our friends’ weddings before, so yeah, we probably will,” he says. “They’re great.”