Elephant Project Auctions for Alzheimer's Assoc. thru 9/30

Celebrities from the Broadway, film, and TV worlds have been posing for photos with elephants for a charity project called the Elephant Project to benefit the Alzheimer's Association.

The Elephant Project's goal is to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer's Association through celebrity participation. The elephant is the symbol of the project as "elephants never forget." Stars like Adam Sandler, Zac Efron, Lance Bass, Lea Salonga, and Christine Ebersole have posed with an elephant beanie baby and sign special Elephant Project cards in order to create items for auctions. Rounds of auctions are held every few months, with each celebrity package consisting of an 8x10 photo of the celebrity and an elephant, an autographed card, and an elephant beanie baby.

The current round of auctions consists of 36 auctions, which are all live on eBay. All auctions will last seven days. The first set of auctions ends on September 23, with a few ending each day after, until September 30. The focus of this round of auctions is to fundraise for the 2007 Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk in which the Elephant Project team will participate on October 7 in Pearl River, New York. Visit www.elephantproject.org to learn how to join a Memory Walk in your area and to get links to the auctions. 

The Elephant Project was created in July 2006 by 17-year old David Niederhoffer after his grandfather passed away from Alzheimer's disease. He wanted to create an organization to raise awareness and funds for the Alzheimer's Association, and to get teenagers more active in community service. The Elephant Project is officially recognized and supported by the Alzheimer's Association, which has assisted the project in many aspects. 

Visit www.elephantproject.org for more information and to view the current auction schedule with details on how to bid. Information on how to donate to the Alzheimer's Association through the Elephant Project is listed on the website.

Photo of Zac Efron with elephant (courtesy David Niederhoffer)