The Grocery Charity Ball 2009

In 2009, the Trustees reverted back to having just one beneficiary for the Grocery Charity Ball. StarJam did a great presentation - they were both passionate and practical and the Trustees were impressed with what StarJam was achieving with very few resources. It was obvious that the donation from the 2009 Ball would make a real difference to what they could accomplish in the future.

StarJam creates events and environments where people with disabilities can have the opportunity to express their gifts and talents - and the general public can in turn experience those gifts and talents.

Started in April 2002 when Julian Lloyd Webber (on a concert tour in New Zealand at the time) was invited to jam with 10 year-old Katherine Rees, StarJam was launched in November the same year with the inaugural “Stars Thru Their Eyes” show, which featured eight young people interviewing celebrities.

Since the launch, StarJam has produced eight major shows, performed at more than a dozen special occasions for conferences and events, as well as taken a number of young people on ‘jamming’ trips to the USA. The list of stars that have become involved with StarJam is a celebrity "who's who" - from Kiwis like Peter Jackson, Lucy Lawless and Dave Dobbyn - to international mega-stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito and Dick Van Dyke.

For more information, visit www.starjam.org.nz.

Melanoma benefits from 2010 Ball

The Melanoma Foundation of New Zealand is a registered charitable trust, a young charity formed in 2004, which is working hard to reduce the incidence and dreadful impact of melanoma in New Zealand.

New Zealand has the highest melanoma incidence rate in the world. Recent figures put our incidence even ahead of Australia's. Every year around 300 New Zealanders die from melanoma and there are 2000 new diagnoses. The death rates amongst New Zealand men are even increasing! These are shocking statistics for a cancer that is largely preventable.

Although most early melanoma is successfully treated through surgery, once melanoma is invasive it is a horrible cancer. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are not proven to assist in treatment of Stage 4 melanoma. Melanoma is taking the lives of many young adults as well as older New Zealanders.

The Melanoma Foundation works in three goal areas:

• Improving the outcome for people affected by melanoma. This includes providing information and support for patients and their families. They also advocate that New Zealanders should be offered service and treatment equal to the best in the world. In the future they hope to be able to support melanoma research and better facilities.
• Community awareness and education about melanoma in the interest of prevention and early detection of melanoma.
• Fostering communication and co-ordination amongst professionals whose work relates to melanoma.