Kiwi Tom James - International Man Of Movember 08

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Media Release
11 December 2008

Kiwi Tom James - International Man Of Movember 2008

Kiwi Mo Bro Tom James (aka Tommo), was yesterday awarded INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MOVEMBER 2008 – a prestigious accolade awarded to the best Movember Mo worldwide.

Tommo’s Mo was chosen from over 171,252 Movember participants. He is the first New Zealander to win this award in the five years that the competition has been running.

The panel of very accomplished Mo growing judges chose Tommo for his Mo as well as his dedication to the cause. “After much discussion Rod and I have decided on the chap from Auckland - he seems to have the right attitude as well as the right Mo!” says Steve Parsons, Handlebar Club Secretary.

Tommo was also awarded the Auckland Man of Movember at the 2008 Movember Gala Parte, a title he now holds for the second year running.

“It’s truly amazing to win this award. I’ve got the best Movember Mo in the world,” says Tommo. “I’m a major advocate of the Movember cause and raising awareness of men’s health in New Zealand, I’m not sure I ever want to shave my award winning mo off!”

Funds are still being raised by hard growing Mo Bros, with a total of over $760,000 raised by Kiwis so far. Movember funds will be split between the New Zealand Cancer Society to fund prostate cancer research and support services, and the New Zealand Mental Health Foundation’s ‘Out of The Blue’ programme to help men experiencing depression.

www.movember.com

ENDS

Notes to Editors

What is Movember?
Movember (the month formally known as November) is a charity event held during November each year.
At the start of Movember, guys register with a clean shaven face. The Movember participants known as Mo Bros then have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their moustache and along the way raise as much money and awareness about male health issues as possible.
Movember culminates at the end of month Gala Partés in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. These glamorous and groomed events will see Tom Selleck and Richard Hadlee look-a-likes battle it out on the catwalk for their chance to take home the prestigious Man of Movember title.
While growing a Mo is left to the guys, Mo Sista’s (ladies that support their guys or love Mo's!) form an important part of Movember with their powerful feminine touch, by joining teams, recruiting Mo Bros, helping to raise funds and attending the highly anticipated Gala Partés.

But it's not all fun and games, so why the extreme behaviour?
Whichever way we look at it, men are far less healthy than women. The average life expectancy of a man in New Zealand is four years less than a woman.
The obvious question is why? The answer is because men lack awareness about the very real health issues they face and are reluctant to see a doctor about an illness or to go for regular medical checks.
The aim of Movember is to change these attitudes, make male health fun by putting the Mo back on the face of New Zealand men and in the process raise some serious funds for prostate cancer and men’s depression.
Movember is very proud to be partnering with the Cancer Society of New Zealand to fund prostate cancer research and support services, and the New Zealand Mental Health Foundation’s ‘Out of The Blue’ campaign to help men experiencing depression.
Further information is available online at www.movember.com

What is the Movember Foundation?
The Movember Foundation is an Australian based, not for profit, charitable organisation that runs the Movember event each year.
The aim of the Movember event is to create awareness around men's health issues and raise funds for carefully selected beneficiaries (charities) in each country, with a focus on two issues that each affects one on ten men; prostate cancer and depression.
The Movember Foundation has generated over $30 million (AUD) globally to help change the face of men’s health and will continue to work hard towards this goal for many years to come.

Why has the beneficiary partnership changed with the Movember Foundation for 2008?
As part of Movember’s annual due diligence at the end of the 2007 campaign, the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) along with other high profile New Zealand charities, were invited to submit proposals on how they would spend future funds generated by the Movember campaign. This process ensures that funds raised will generate the best possible outcomes for men’s health in New Zealand. Movember received two outstanding submissions from world class New Zealand charities; the Cancer Society of New Zealand and the New Zealand Mental Health Foundation.
The PCF received more than $3 million dollars raised by Movember in the 2006 and 2007 campaigns. With this funding it’s expected the PCF will be able to achieve their objectives for many years to come.

How does the fundraising agreement work between Movember and the beneficiaries?
All of the money raised by Movember goes directly to the beneficiary partners at the conclusion of the campaign; the beneficiaries then pay the Movember Foundation back for the cost of the campaign.
Why? Because the Movember Foundation funds all the costs and bears all the risks associated with running the campaign in New Zealand. The Movember Foundation is based in Melbourne and coordinates Movember campaigns in seven countries across the globe. No event this big happens by itself or is without cost, but the global economy of scale keeps the fundraising-to-cost ratio very low for the beneficiary partners. In every country, including New Zealand the fundraising and administration costs represent less than 16% of the total funds raised; this is world’s best practice when compared with other charities which average 19%.

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