GQ Announces Finalists in 2011 Better Men Better World Search

NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- GQ's The Gentlemen's Fund, along with Movado, is proud to announce the five finalists of the annual Better Men Better World Search. Each year, GQ accepts hundreds of nominations from across the country in its search for men who dedicate their time and energy for the betterment of society. Through charitable work, volunteerism, and community involvement, these men embody what it truly means to be a gentleman.

GQ is honored to be able to share the stories, actions, and ideas of the following Better Men Better World Search finalists:

• Eric Greitens – Eric Greitens is the founder and CEO of The Mission Continues, a nonprofit organization that empowers wounded and disabled veterans to begin new lives as citizen leaders here at home. Greitens, a Navy Seal, donated his combat pay to found this organization after returning home from a deployment to Iraq in 2007.  As CEO, he works to ensure that every returning veteran lives a life of purpose, regardless of what injuries they may have sustained during their time in the military.

• Tim King – While attending law school at Georgetown University, Tim King taught at an inner-city school and, upon completing his degree, decided to pursue teaching as a full-time career.  In 2006, he founded the nonprofit organization Urban Prep Academies, which operates a network of all-boys public high schools whose goal is to reverse the abysmal graduation and college-completion rates among boys in urban centers.

• Deogratias "Deo" Niyizonkiza – This Burundian-American has spent the past several years working to improve the lives of local communities in his native Burundi, a nation recovering from a civil war. In 2007, "Deo" founded the Village Health Works community health center in Kigutu, near the borders of Congo and Tanzania—an area especially hit hard by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria—to provide high-quality health care, most of it at no cost, to thousands of patients since its doors opened.

• Laren Poole – Back in 2003, Laren Poole traveled to Uganda for a filmmaking adventure, only to return with the ambition to expose the crisis at hand and help find a peaceful resolution to the decades-long war. Poole then co-founded the advocacy group Invisible Children, which, through documentary films and other media, seeks to transform apathy into activism by helping to tell the stories of East African children affected by Africa's longest-running war—a war it is working to end.

• Jake Wood – After watching the devastation of the earthquake in Haiti unfold, Jake Wood, a Marine combat veteran, quickly sprang into action. Within hours of posting a message on his Facebook page—"I'm going to Haiti. Who's in?"—Team Rubicon's first unit was formed with volunteer first responders, doctors, nurses, and combat vets.  Thanks to social networking, the group accumulated $250,000 in medical supplies and donations. Wood's military model has created a new set of standards for disaster relief, deploying rapidly to destinations in need of help.

The winner of The Better Men Better World Search will be chosen by popular vote and a panel of GQ judges, including guest judge Willie Geist, host of MSNBC's Way Too Early and co-host of Morning Joe, and will be officially announced at The Gentlemen's Ball in New York City. He will also be featured on a GQ promotional page and receive a $2,000 cash prize, a Movado SE® Extreme watch, and $10,000 donated by Movado to the accredited charity of his choice. Readers can cast their vote now through September 21 by visiting www.TheGentlemensFund.com.  

The remaining finalists will also be invited, as guests of Movado, to attend The Gentlemen's Ball and will receive a Movado BOLD™ watch and $2,500 donated to the charities of their choice.

To meet these inspirational men, learn about their causes, and vote, go to: www.TheGentlemensFund.com.

THE GENTLEMEN'S FUND:

GQ's The Gentlemen's Fund initiative raises awareness for issues that are essential to modern men. Founded in 2007, The Gentlemen's Fund encourages men to become agents of change by supporting charities that champion these causes. Recent Gentlemen's Fund ambassadors have included David Arquette, Adrian Grenier, Josh Duhamel, Jimmy Fallon, Ashton Kutcher, John Legend, Steve Nash, Mark Wahlberg, Forest Whitaker, and Timbaland.

GQ:

GQ is the leading men's general-interest magazine, with a monthly readership of 6.6 million readers. It is available in print, online at GQ.com, and as an app at iTunes.com and BarnesandNoble.com. The magazine is published by Conde Nast, a division of Advance Publications. Conde Nast operates in twenty-five countries and is the world leader in exceptional content creation.

SOURCE GQ