Jonah Lomu, internationally known rugby star famous for his accomplishments with the New Zealand All Blacks, is the headline act for the 21st anniversary celebrations of Special Olympics New Zealand, culminating in a gala dinner at the new SKYCITY Auckland Convention Centre on 18 June 2004.
Lomu has agreed to offer one very lucky auction bidder on the night the opportunity to share time and lunch with him, two of the bidder's colleagues or friends and an equally fortunate Special Olympic New Zealand athlete. This unique event will happen on 20 July 2004, Special Olympics International Day.
"I'm very pleased to be supporting Special Olympics New Zealand in this way," Lomu said. "The organisation has supported sporting programmes for the intellectually disabled throughout the country for over two decades. It's great to be able to acknowledge this achievement and contribute something towards Special Olympics New Zealand's future development and growth at the same time."
Lomu joins a long line of celebrities who are prepared to give their time as "Ultimate Mentors" or an auction item to the cause – Prime Minister Helen Clark, Sir Edmund Hillary, Peter Jackson, Tiger Woods, Colin Meads, Sir Brian Lochore, Sir Wilson Whineray, Grant Fox, the Evers-Swindell sisters, Stephen Fleming and several others.
"We feel very humbled that people of this calibre are giving us their valuable time or items," said Special Olympics New Zealand Chairman Robin Sheffield. "This is an extremely important year for us as we start a campaign to double our already world-leading athlete participation rate by 2010."
Another star turn at the gala dinner will be renowned Special Olympics athlete and Ambassador Loretta Claiborne, who will be keynote speaker on the night and will also spend a week in New Zealand spreading the word about the good Special Olympics does in the community.
For information about the gala dinner at SKYCITY Auckland Convention Centre on Friday 18 June 2004, contact P10 Special Events, 09 309-2007;
meg@p10.co.nz.
Lomu was born in Auckland, New Zealand on May 12, 1975 and began playing rugby during school. At 19, he became the youngest player to ever put on an All-Blacks uniform when he suited up for New Zealand in a game against France. At the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, Jonah was named player of the tournament as he led the All Blacks to the World Cup.
In 1996 Lomu was diagnosed with a rare and serious kidney disorder, Nephrotic Syndrome, forcing him to take a year off from competition. He returned to top form, however, and in 1998 was a Gold Medal in the rugby sevens at the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games and participated in the 1999 World Cup. In 2003 Lomu his condition necessitated beginning dialysis treatment, which has taken him out of competition. His autobiography "Jonah — My Story" was launched on 3 May 2004.
