iPhone Auction Generates $100,000 Bid for AIDS Victims

In the closing hours of auction Friday, eBay item number 170127351494, an Apple iPhone reached the $100,000 bid mark.

This Apple iPhone comes with a few additional perks: First it will contain a personalized greeting developed by R&B singer Alicia Keys.

Second, the winning bidder will receive the phone at the celebrity-charity Black Ball, held in New York City, on October 25. The celebration honors the work of singer and AIDS activist Bono.

Included with the hefty price also comes a bit of history with the phone. This particular model was originally purchased by Director and Filmmaker Spike Lee, and is deemed the first Apple iPhone ever purchased.

But it is the future of the proceedings generated that garners wide-spread excitement.

The monies obtained from the iPhone sale will go to the charitable organization, Keep A Child Alive, whose efforts are focused on treating AIDS child victims in Africa. The celebrity-endorsed charity is able to provide needed anti-retroviral drugs to children who would otherwise die from AIDS.

The life-saving treatment can be accomplished for as little as $1 a day by the organization, which assists both children and parents. $100,000 will go far in this regard.

In modern society, anti-retroviral medications turn AIDS from a death sentence to a potentially manageable disease, cutting death rates as much as 80 percent, and nearly eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission.

Alicia Keys, an ambassador for Keep A Child Alive, is one of many celebrities involved with the charity. Despite the significant celebrity involvement with the organization, statistics for the killer disease in Africa remains grim.

According to the organization, "Ignorance causes nearly 12,000 new infections and 8000 deaths daily. Over four million people will become newly infected and three million will lose their lives to AIDS each year (two million will be in Sub Saharan Africa) devastating the economic and family structure of this region. "

Additionally, AIDS infects women to men at the rate of 3:2 overall in Africa, and among the 15-24 age group, the rate is 3:1. Women are responsible for the majority of care involved for both AIDS victims and AIDS orphans.

Keep A Child Alive was founded by Leigh Blake, a leading AIDS educator and activist who has worked with numerous top celebrities in an effort to reduce the devastation caused by the disease.

In addition to the Apple iPhone, the winning bidder will receive two Jawbone Bluetooth headsets, two round-trip domestic plane tickets and two VIP passes to the Black Ball.

Elizabeth Santiso, Vice President at Keep A Child Alive noted in a press release that, "We're thrilled, this iPhone is saving thousands of lives in Africa."

Source: Record-breaking $100,000 iPhone Bid for Keep A Child Alive Charity
(http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=3509178&access=EH) July 6, 2007

Keep A Child Alive (www.keepaclildalive.org)