Festival fit for a king

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A new festival launched to fund a mental health charity could become an annual fixture. Roy Pilott reports.

Alwyn Poole was so impressed by Mike King he undertook to raise $10,000 a year for his I am Hope mental health crusade.

Mike King

Poole, an experienced educationalist with a sporting background is making good on that pledge with his Cambridge Festival of Sport which will run at the end of the month.

He has a vision of the November 23-26 festival becoming an annual event – yet despite a star studded start, he readily admits he doesn’t expect the first one will get him over the $10,000 mark.

But for King’s Gumboot Friday “I’ll find the money one way or another”.

The festival combines two major events – a Gumboot Friday concert at Claudelands and a dinner at Tieke Golf Estate featuring Rod Dixon – and marking the 40th anniversary of his Yew York City marathon win – with sporting events where the greater the participation, the more benefit it will be for host clubs.

Cambridge High School band Pineja will open at Claudelands for Jason Kerrison and The Feelers.

The festival of sport programme includes events aimed at children, adults, families and schools. Swimming, athletics, golf, rowing, goalkicking, basketball, cycling, crossfit, fishing and football events will be held in and around Cambridge.

Poole doesn’t hide his admiration for King.

From bawdy – and successful – comedian, King has transformed into a passionate campaigner for greater awareness of mental health since launching his community korero show a decade ago.

Poole describes King’s passion for mental health as almost a conversion.

He was considering getting King to speak in schools eight years ago, so went and watched him at Tamaki College to be certain he would be the right fit.

“Phenomenal – he had the kids laughing, engaged – he also spoke exceedingly well, too, to kids who were not struggling to tell them about their role to keep an eye out for others.”

King subsequently spoke to middle schools for Poole.

“He blew us away – we thought we knew our kids. He finished speaking and invited anyone who wanted to come up and chat. We left him with eight students and what they told him was extraordinary and resulted in actions we could take to ensure they were looked after.”

King was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2019. Two years later, through tears, he handed the medal back, imploring people to do something.

He spoke of a profound sense of sadness that “no one’s listening”.

King’s Gumboot Friday is a free counselling service for people 25 and under and delivers more than 3400 sessions a month.

On his website he laments that more than 100 families will lose a loved one this year, and thousands more will be destroyed “trying to navigate a broken system”.

“Sadly, this crucial lifeline is not funded by central government and or will it ever be,” he says.

 

 

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About Author

Roy Pilott - the editorial director at Good Local Media - has worked in media in both New Zealand and the UK. He began his career at South Waikato News, worked for a football magazine and an east London tabloid, and later became the editor of the Waikato Times and Taranaki Daily News, and sub editor for the Sunday Star Times.

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