Please find attached press release plus a fantastic YouTube link below.

CALL FOR MERSEYSIDE BUSINESSES TO BACK WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT!


Two volunteers, Steve Hall and Ashley Winchester will be putting on 26 stone for a good cause. There will be no need to call in the paramedics though - Steve and Ashley won’t be gorging themselves on cakes and doughnuts, but instead will each be putting on hundreds of T-shirts to try and break a world record.

The 500:100 Campaign stunt is in aid of a national charity called C.A.L.M (Campaign Against Living Miserably), which provides thousands of young men on Merseyside with advice and support. Steve and Ashley will each put on 250 T-shirts with a combined weight of 26 stone, and in the process raise £50,000 for C.A.L.M.

C.A.L.M’s patron, comedian and author David Baddiel interviewed the two volunteers with Steven Merchant, video available on YouTube. Commenting on the attempt, David Baddiel said: “Being silent, as we in C.A.L.M say, isn't being strong. But wearing 250 T-shirts on your back - the equivalent of my weight in cotton - that really is being strong.”

The current world record stands at 224 T-shirts which C.A.L.M is hoping to smash, and so is asking 500 individuals and donors to pledge £100 to sponsor a T-shirt – hence the 500:100 name. In return the donor will get their logo, message or picture featured on one of the world record setting T-shirts.

Merseyside CALM co-ordinator Simon Howes said “This is an easy and fun way for Merseyside companies to support CALM and local young men. I would love to see a huge portion of the 500 t-shirts with logos from Merseyside businesses, especially with all the exposure they can get.”

Over 100 companies from across the UK have signed up to the campaign in the last couple of weeks, and have uploaded their logos to the campaign’s website which depicts delightful little pictures of all of the companies’ T-Shirts. When the 500 figure is reached the record attempt will take place at a venue in London.

The charity itself is aimed at raising awareness about suicide amongst young men. C.A.L.M’s director, Jane Powell, says in the UK an average of three men aged 15 to 35 commit suicide each day, one of the top leading causes of death for young men.

The money raised by this record attempt will go towards developing a new webchat and texting service. Powell says that when it comes to talking to an advisor many young men prefer this way of communicating and it could have a huge impact on thousands of lives:

“This event is perhaps one of the oddest attempts we’ve ever been involved in. We hope it will raise awareness and get people reaching out to help these young men. Encouraging them to talk about their problems is often the best help they can get – that’s why our motto is ‘being silent isn’t being strong’”.

For more info on the campaign log onto: http://www.thecalmzone.net/500/100

Take 35 seconds and have a look at how we’re getting on, featuring the first 50 t-shirts going on! (The vid features the track "Toe Jam" by The BPA featuring David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal, out digitally July 7th via Fatboy Slim’s Southern Fried label)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qej4wMgQ9n4

With the backing of comedy legends Stephen Merchant and David Baddiel, this is going to get big coverage!

We’d love to have you involved, drop me a line or go to http://www.thecalmzone.net/500/100