Locked Up for What’s Up

5 February 2003

On Saturday, February 8, amidst the hustle and bustle of the American Express Viaduct Harbour, a host of well-known Aucklanders from the worlds of business, sport and entertainment – including leading TV2 shows – will find themselves ‘fingered’ by the long arm of the law.

Entering into the spirit of the occasion, the New Zealand Police will deliver the ‘miscreants’ by paddy-wagon to a lock-up ‘cell’ in the Viaduct Harbour. To earn their freedom the ‘criminals’ will need to raise ‘bail’ and the donations will go to What’s Up, a national telephone counselling service for children and young people.

The family fun, which will be broadcast live by Radio ZM, begins at 11.30am and finishes at 2pm. There are prizes to be won including 10 family passes to Kelly Tarlton’s and 20 Yellow Boat Company tickets for tours by water around the Viaduct Basin. Costumed characters on parade will include Coco the monkey from Kellogg’s, Cookie Bear from Griffin’s and Sammie the Shark from Kelly Tarlton’s.

What’s Up provides a free, professional counselling service for New Zealand children and young people between the ages of five and eighteen. The service is supported by sponsorship from four major companies; New Zealand Dairy Foods, Progressive Enterprises, Kellogg New Zealand and Griffin’s, with additional funding from donations, fundraising activities such as the Lock Up, and grants from philanthropic trusts and the NZ Lottery Grants Board.

Executive Director, Grant Taylor, says there has been an unprecedented demand for the service that began in September 2001.

"Over 250,000 young people called What’s Up in our first year of operation, but we had the resources to answer only about half of these calls. We urgently need more funds so we can employ more trained counsellors to answer more calls.

"We are very grateful to the celebrities, presenters and business people taking part in the Lock Up fundraiser. They are kindly giving their time to support What’s Up in what will be a fun, family orientated event."