KidsCan rejects sales from naked calendar

Children's charity KidsCan is horrified its name has been linked to a calendar of nude men, and is refusing to accept money from its sale.

Men with links to medical recruit firm MedRecruit bared all in the calendar, saying all the money raised would go to KidsCan, a charity for underprivileged children.

The men, many of them doctors, were shown in a range of poses, from lying in bed looking sultry, to mountainbiking and surfing. No wiggly bits were shown.

But KidsCan general manager Julie Henson told NZPA the calendar was "inappropriate", and she would not touch the money it raised.

While she had seen some of the text used, she had not seen the nude photographs until shown them by NZPA.

"We didn't have final approval," she said.

"Now that we've see it we don't think it's appropriate. We've communicated with them that we're not happy about it.

"They might want to chose another charity, like prostate cancer - something for men, not for children."

MedRecruit managing director Sam Hazledine, who appears clad in a stethoscope as Mr December, was surprised to learn Ms Henson was upset.

After talking to KidsCan, he accepted linking nude men and children had been a mistake.

"In retrospect I have to say this wasn't an appropriate charity for this particular calendar," he told NZPA.

"As such, we are going to donate all proceeds of the calendar to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.

"Raising money for a men's cause is far more appropriate and the calendar is going to raise a lot of money so it's great that it will be going to a worthy cause."

He still thought KidsCan was a "fantastic" charity, "which is why I wanted to support them".

Initially, he was of the view there was nothing inappropriate about the photos, as no male bits were showing.

"We see the calendar as a fun way of drawing attention to and raising money for a very worthy cause," he said, before finding out KidsCan disapproved.

"In my experience boring doesn't work, so we decided to get a bit creative so that people would be excited to get behind this charity.

"And it's worked, we are getting hundreds of orders for calendars so we're raising a lot of money for KidsCan.

"I don't think a calendar of watercolour landscapes would have had quite the same effect!"

All Blacks Doug Howlett and Ali Williams are KidsCan patrons.