Media release
18 July 2001

PRIME MINISTER TO HELP MAKE KORU CARE
KIDS DREAMS COME TRUE

The Koru Care Charitable Trust today announced Prime Minister Helen Clark will be one of the key faces in a new media campaign to encourage New Zealanders to support this year’s Koru Care fundraising appeal.

The prime minister will film an endorsement for a televison commercial, to be run on SKY Television, in Auckland this Friday. The Koru Care Appeal, called Operation Orlando, aims to raise $150,000 to send 26 children to Disneyworld and other theme parks in Orlando, Florida, in October this year. The Koru Care Charitable Trust is dedicated to making dreams come true for disabled and terminally ill children.

Helen Clark says the Koru Care Charitable Trust does a great job brightening the lives of disabled and terminally ill children. “The trips that the trust organizes bring a great deal of joy to youngsters who have a lot of suffering in their lives, and that is why I fully support its work,” Helen Clark says.

Helen Clark’s endorsement of this year’s appeal will be included in a commercial filmed using one of last year’s Koru Care Disneyland visitors – 11-year-old Kezia Lockhart. Kezia was born with no left heart, so she has only two heart chambers instead of four. She has had numerous operations since diagnosis at the age of three months.

SKY Television, Newstalk ZB and Air New Zealand are the major corporate sponsors of this year’s appeal. Tim Kay, Koru Care event manager, says this is the first time we’ve had such huge corporate support to help send these children overseas. “This wouldn’t be possible without the promotion and support these partners are providing.”

One of the highlights of the Koru Care Appeal will be a gala dinner to raise money for the trip, to be held Thursday 23 August at Crown Plaza, (formerly the Centra Hotel Auckland).

For further information, please call:

Tim Kay
Koru Care Charitable Trust
00 64 9 523 2456 (tel)
00 64 9 524 9921 (fax)
025 668 7118 (mobile)

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