Project: New Future Helps Kids With Cancer

Date: Monday, July 19, 2004

July 19, 2004--Anime News Network, in association with TOKYOPOP, FUNimation, Bandai Entertainment, Dark Horse Comics, Urban Vision, Animerica, and The Right Stuf International, announces a new initiative to bring hope to kids with cancer.



Twelve-year-old Mitsuki Kouyama is a girl with a dream. She loves to sing with all her heart, and she wants to touch the world with her delicate voice. Between Mitsuki and her dream is cancer?a tumor in her throat that puts her life and voice in peril. Given only one year to live, she struggles through each day with little hope as her dream begins to fade.



But a miracle saves Mitsuki. Two spirits visit the young girl, befriending her and giving her hope. With their power she can challenge fate and reach for her dream. She finds a new future.



"Full Moon wo Sagashite" is fictional, but the story of Mitsuki Kouyama is one shared by tens of thousands of children across the country. One in every 330 children in the United States develops cancer before age nineteen. Killing more children than any other disease, cancer strips children of the chance to fulfill their dreams. And while today's research and treatment can give these children a fighting chance, money and medicine are not always enough to save them. For children like Mitsuki, the only hope is a miracle.



That's where you come in.



Today we're launching Project: New Future, a new program designed to encourage and reward North America's anime and manga fans for spending time with a child who's fighting cancer. The healing power of the human spirit, as so many doctors will attest, is unmatched. We're asking the anime community to channel that power.



As a gift for volunteering at a local children's hospital or camp, Anime News Network has partnered with TOKYOPOP, FUNimation, Bandai Entertainment, Dark Horse Comics, Urban Vision, Animerica, and The Right Stuf International to send free anime and manga to all participants.



"We are delighted at the opportunity to partner with Anime News Network for such a worthy cause," said TOKYOPOP VP of Marketing, John Powers. "We hope that we help bring attention to the Project: New Future campaign and ultimately encourage America's growing population of anime and manga fans to get involved."



For many of us, cancer strikes at a very personal level. "As someone who has watched family members die from this disease, I am proud to have our organization assist in any way we can toward making progress in the fight against cancer," said Shawne Kleckner, CEO/President of The Right Stuf International.




Cancer brings children a future of suffering and death. Together we can help them find a new future.



For more details, please visit www.projectnewfuture.org or contact Jonathan Mays at jmays@animenewsnetwork.com.