Our theme in 2011 : Giving Boys The Best Possible Start In Life

Every year a new theme is chosen for International Men's Day. This year the theme is "Giving Boys The Best Possible Start In Life". Gandhi said, "If we are to have real peace, we must begin with our children.' Mahatma Gandhi is right, and that is why we encourage you to celebrate International Men's Day and raise funds for a children's charity of your choice at the same time.

Child Poverty and Health Statistics:

• 1,000,000,000 children live in poverty
• 640,000,000 children have inadequate shelter.
• 400,000,000 children have no access to safe water.
• 15,000,000 children are orphans due to HIV / AIDS.
• 10,600,000 children died before they reached the age of five. The majority of these deaths were from preventable causes.
• According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty.
• 120,000,000 children are not able to go to school because they do not have access to one.
• Nearly 1000,000,000 people entered the 21st Century being unable to read or sign their names.
• Less than 1% of the world weapons expenditure would have put every child in school by 2000. It didn't happen.

As John F Kennedy said, "Children are the world's most valuable resource, and its best hope for the future." That is why we are encouraging people to use International Men's Day to raise money for their favourite children's charity.

The story is told of a man who was walking along a deserted beach at sunset. As he walked he could see a young boy in the distance, as he drew nearer he noticed that the boy kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things into the ocean.

As the man approached even closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was throwing them back into the water.

The man asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied, "I am throwing these washed up starfish back into the ocean, or else they will die through lack of oxygen. "But", said the man, "You can't possibly save them all, there are thousands on this beach, and this must be happening on hundreds of beaches along the coast. You can't possibly make a difference." The boy smiled, bent down and picked up another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied "It made a huge difference to that one!"

If everyone that celebrated International Men's Day gave $10 to charity, we could raise a million dollars and sponsor almost 2,000 children for a year. Together we can make a difference.