Cruise Speaks Out About Dyslexia
Tom Cruise Helps New Zealand School
February 12, 2003

HOLLYWOOD star Tom Cruise has come to the aid of a small New Zealand rural school, raising $NZ14,000 ($13,100) to help build an outside shelter.

Tom Cruise at a traditional Maori welcoming ceremony in New Plymouth, New Zealand. Picture: AP

Cruise called local radio station the Edge in New Plymouth on North Island's west coast yesterday after it offered to pay $NZ5000 to anyone who persuaded Cruise to phone in live on air, local media reported today.

Calling after a night of shooting for the movie The Last Samurai, Cruise said he wanted "to do a little negotiating" over the amount offered for his call-in.

"$NZ5000 isn't enough I say ... (I called) to see if I can get you up to $NZ7000," he asked.

He wanted all the cash to go to local Urenui junior school.

"They've been trying to raise money for a shelter to go outside," the star said. "If you go up to that ($NZ7000), I'll match it."

He said he had heard about the school's fundraising attempt by keeping his "ear to the ground" in the community where he's filming on location for four months.

The Last Samurai is set in 18th century Japan. A Japanese village set has been built on location in the countryside near New Plymouth, with distant dormant volcano Mount Taranaki a Mount Fuji lookalike.

Up to 500 Japanese extras will shortly be flown in from Japan for the filming of major battle scenes for the movie.

New Plymouth is a regional city 320km from the capital, Wellington.

09 April 2003

Hollywood film star Tom Cruise has donated $1500 to an Auckland youth drug programme sponsored by the Church of Scientology.

Mr Cruise, a member of the church, sent the cheque and a letter after hearing about the work of the Drug-Free Ambassadors group, which encourages young people to adopt a drug-free lifestyle.

Mo McLeary, manager for the group, which has been running for three years, said it was thrilled with the donation.

Mr McLeary had written to the actor hoping it might receive a photo for publicity use. Instead Cruise sent a cheque.

The money will be used to reprint 10,000 copies of an anti-drug booklet, Truth About Joints, and contribute to a booklet on Ecstasy.

Cruise, who is working in Taranaki on the film The Last Samurai, said in his letter that it was inspiring to read about the group's dedication to educating young people about drugs.

He said there was a lot of false information around, and providing children with the truth empowered them to make "pro-survival" decisions.

"Keep up the good work! I hope you will continue to keep me informed on your progress."

Drug-Free Ambassadors in New Zealand, as around the world, give young people the truth about drugs — no scare tactics, no preaching, just facts.
Young people sign the Drug-Free pledge, receive a certificate and then take responsibility for encouraging their friends to be drug-free, too.
In February, Cruise gave $7000 to Urenui School in Taranaki to build an outside shelter. The Edge radio station had offered $5000 to anyone who could get the actor to call the station. Cruise called himself and offered $7000 if the radio station would match it.
Taranaki farewell for Tom
14 April 2003

The 1200-odd people who gathered at New Plymouth's TSB Bowl of Brooklands yesterday, assembled in formation to spell out the word TOMINAKI.

Organised by The Edge radio station, the mass gathering and subsequent photograph was an effort to give Hollywood movie star
BYE TOM: A farewell picture from Taranaki.
Tom Cruise a memorable farewell from Taranaki, where he has lived for nearly four months for the filming of The Last Samurai.
Mt Taranaki would be digitally put into the photograph and it was hoped the picture would be presented to Cruise before he left Taranaki later this month, Dominic Harvey from The Edge said.
Cruise Speaks Out About Dyslexia
July 12, 2003 - World Entertainment News Network

Tom Cruise has gone public with his dyslexia trauma in a bid to convince parents of kids with the learning disorder that there is a solution.

The movie superstar grew up with learning problems, and admits he was frustrated when he couldn't keep up at school.advertisement (story continues below)

His dyslexia almost brought his acting career to a premature end and wrecked his chances becoming a pilot - but then he found help thanks to a learning program he discovered after becoming a Scientologist in 1986.

In an exclusive interview in People magazine, the actor says, "All through school and well into my career, I felt like I had a secret, but then a friend gave me a picture book on Scientology, and through this I was introduced to the writings of L. Ron Hubbard, who had founded the religion.

"Mr Hubbard was also an educator who had been researching the field for decades. He had found that literacy and comprehension levels were declining worldwide, and he developed Study Technology."

Cruise is now a board member of Hubbard's literacy foundation, the Hollywood Education + Literary Project (HELP), and he wants young dyslexics to have the benefit of his findings.

He adds, "I don't want people to go through what I went through. I want kids to have the ability to read, to write, to understand what people are saying to them, to be able to solve life's problems."

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