I've never been good with death. I have been fortunate in recent years that death was not part of my life. That all changed a few weeks ago when my friend, colleague and "always at my party" attendee, Lisa, passed away from her battle with colon cancer.

When I moved from Salt Lake to the Bay Area last year, I lost track of Lisa. It was hard for me to talk to her and preferred to get updates of her condition through our mutual friends. I was scared of what was happening. Now I have a heavy heart not remembering the last thing I ever said to her. I used to think cancer sucked, but now I can honestly say that I F@$#$@#$ HATE CANCER.

It's seems almost appropriate that I am part of a team here at eBay that is helping with our participation in the Stand Up 2 Cancer event. Over the course of the next few weeks, the eBay community will be helping kick cancer's ass. You can also contribute in this "ass kicking" by donating, buying, or listing an item that benefits this movement.

I will be posting more information next week about how we're participating, and specifically how YOU can do so as well.

I am listing a Stand Up 2 Cancer T-shirt signed by Jennifer Aniston, Terrance Howard and Sidney Poitier. This goes live on Monday morning, 8am PST.

I am doing this as I "Stand Up" in memory of Lisa.

To learn more about how you can STAND UP, please visit the Stand Up 2 Cancer website.

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TAGS: Stand Up 2 Cancer, Friends, eBay Giving Works

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I'll be the first one to say that no one should buy a truck. Sure, it was fine when gas was $1.89 a gallon, but now its bloody murder when you go to the pump. Though I'm occasionally persuaded to think otherwise (about many things), and today I changed my mind. NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne (and overall nice guy from what I've heard) is auctioning off a custom Dodge to benefit his foundation on eBay Giving Works

The Kasey Kahne Foundation raises and donates funds to charitable organizations that care for chronically ill children and their families.

So in a way, buying this truck is really about karma and doing a "GOOD" thing. In addition to bidding on the truck (or not), you can donate as little as $5 to his foundation to help.

Now if I only had money to bid on a truck, even a Tonka one...

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TAGS: Dodge, Kasey Kahne, Truck, eBay Giving Works

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For those of you not familiar with Utterz, it's a mobile blogging platform. What does that mean? I guess in simple terms it means that you can communicate to the world (on your blog) through your phone. No more spending Friday nights blogging up posts in a hermit-like state (as I do). I'd recommend checking it out! You can check out my personal utterz here. Stay tuned for a What Gives!? utterz player ;-)

TAGS: Utterz, eBay Giving Works, Good

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I'll be the first to admit that I had no idea who the Jonas Brothers were a few months ago. I DID KNOW they opened up for the Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana tour, but they were kinda overshadowed by Ms Cyrus ;-) So now I can't turn on a TV or radio without hearing them. I must admit, Camp Rock...rocked! And "Tonight" is sugar pop goodness!

So I'm pretty excited about the fact that the band has an auction on eBay Giving Works, and it's quite the auction:

2 tickets to their show in NYC on August 11th at THE GARDEN (duh!)
Winner and a guest meet the band
A copy of their new cd which actually comes out the day after the NYC show!

100% of the proceeds of the auction benefit City Of Hope, which is dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

So all you overachieving Dads and Soccer moms, what are you waiting for?? Because not only will your child LOVE you for it; your neighbors will probably hate you for getting the title of "COOLEST PARENTS ALIVE!"

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TAGS: Jonas Brothers, Rock, City Of Hope, eBay Giving Works, Meet & Greet

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Countless lives have been altered due to the recent tornados and floods that have plagued the Midwest, and many people are still in need of aid. The tragic floods have been incredibly personal for Indie artist Mark Kozelek, as he grew up in Massillon, Ohio. Since Mark has such ties to the Midwest he felt compelled to help raise funds for The American Red Cross Disaster Relief efforts by conducting a charity auction on eBay Giving Works.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Mark Kozelek I highly recommend you check him out. Mark is the front man of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters. He also has an amazing collection of solo work, and has been featured in films like Almost Famous, Vanilla Sky, and ShopGirl. He is an incredibly inspirational artist and philanthropist.

Mark will be auctioning 5 of his rare and vintage guitars; proceeds will benefit victims of this tragedy through The American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. This is a great way for music enthusiasts to get involved and help expedite the reconstruction of the Midwest. I am excited for this auction, not only because I love Mark’s music, but I really do believe in this cause. The auction began July 20th (this past Sunday) and ends July 27th, so mark your calendars!

People affected by these tragedies genuinely need our help, especially with food and gas prices rising so drastically. If you can help, please do. The American Red Cross also accepts donations and volunteers, and every little bit helps.

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TAGS: Mark Kozolek, eBay Giving Works, American Red Cross, Floods, Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon

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When I first started looking at how my company could give back by selling on eBay, I had to look no further than across my street for some inspiration. That's where my good friend Andrew Wise lives. In his non-soccer dad and frustrated rock drummer life, he's the Vice President of Consumer Products at A&E Television Networks (AETN)* and the architect of their very successful eBay Giving Works store.

Since launching their store in April 2006, AETV facilitated 4 major cause-related auctions raising over $125,000 for Starlight Starbright and The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Recently, between chasing after his very active children and equally hyper dog, he sat down to talk to me about how he took what was a fun idea and turned it into a new revenue stream for his company and an avenue to support some really worthwhile causes.

EG: What motivated A&E to get involved with eBay charity auctions?
AW: We opened our eBay store for three main reasons: to compliment our existing distribution channels; to combat counterfeiting of our products by providing a legitimate branded eBay store; and to promote our television programming. The majority of our sales come from DVD's - either from our shows, or they are licensed (ex. Monty Python, Major League Baseball). We manufacture and distribute the products across all of our retail channels. For us eBay serves two strategic purposes - eBay provides alternative distribution for our end-of-lifecycle and excess products, and, we utilize eBay as a promotional vehicle.

eBay casts a wide net and promoting a television show on eBay's home page is very powerful. We found that facilitating a charity auction around our hit shows would be a great give-back to the viewers/fans and also raise proceeds for a good cause. Everyone wins in this scenario!

EG: What was your first charity auction? Did the winning bid come in about where you expected it to be?
AW: We worked with Criss Angel to allow a fan to bid to appear in an episode on television. All proceeds went to Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation. We had no idea where this could go (we weren't ready to qualify bidders) - it was sort of an experiment in the power of eBay, but both eBay and Criss were amazing to work with.

We secured homepage placement on eBay.comand we widely promoted the event on-air and online. The bid closed 10 days after launching at $17,100!! We were floored as was the charity. Even better was that a father won this for his 10 year-old son, a huge Criss fan. Overall, it was a great experience and the beginning of much more.

EG: What auction has gotten you the most surprising results (and I'm not necessarily refering to what brought in the biggest payday)?
AW:The Gene Simmons Axe Bass Guitar started at $50 and quickly went to $78,000. We brought in AuctionCause about half way through the event to qualify the bidders and the bass ended up selling for $9,000. A few Gene fanatics got carried away and Gene predicted that!

EG: What item have you sold for charity that you wish you could have been bidding on?
AW: Well, since I am a musician, I would have loved the Axe Bass - it was designed by Gene himself and it is truly a gorgeous instrument!!

EG: What has the reaction been like from people at A&E about your store? What has the feedback been like outside of your company?
AW: We have received positive feedback all around. Our store provides incremental revenues and marketing opportunities, which are always good.

EG: What advice do you have for others considering doing cause-related auctions?
AW: Cause-related auctions can be a great win-win-win scenario. The winning bidder gets what they want, the charity is provided with additional funding, and we were able to obtain promotion for our programs. If structured correctly, this can be a powerful marketing tool, while also doing a good deed.




*AETN is comprised of A&E Network, The History Channel, The Biography Channel, History International, The Military History Channel, The History Channel en español, Crime & Investigation Network, A&E HD, AETN International and AETN Consumer Products.

TAGS: aetn, andrew wise, ebay giving works, criss angel, starlight starbright, elizabeth glaser pediatric aids foundation

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So in the world of rock-n-roll, almost every band breaks up, makes up, and then does a 300 date tour to celebrate. And though I admit that I'm still waiting for the original GnR line up to do the same; this stuff tends to happen ;-)

So all things must come to an end, and The Police's final swan song will be at The Garden, arguably the most famous arena in the world. And this historic last show will be a fundraiser with proceeds benefiting the production of arts programming for Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21 New York. Now how many bands DO THAT?

In conjunction with the August 7th concert, the band has thrown in a nice little "memory" for the person who's willing to be the highest bidder. This once-in-a-lifetime experience auction on eBay Giving Works includes(for two):

• Directly interacting with The Police during an intimate Meet n’ Greet (under 20 people total).
• Receiving a group or personal photo with The Police.
• Attending the final Sound Check by The Police.
• Front row Sec 2 tickets.
• Pre-concert dinner and cocktail reception hosted by Thirteen/WNET and WLIW21.
• Limited edition final concert souvenirs.

So if you have the cash, and the desire to live history, then go place your bid!

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TAGS: The Police, Sting, eBay Giving Works, Madison Square Garden

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Of all the superhero tales, I have always had an affinity toward Batman. I cannot wait for "The Dark Knight" to come out! I already have the evening planned with seats at a local Imax Theater! I loved Batman Begins and was excited when I first heard about "The Dark Knight" going into production. I was even more ecstatic to learn Heath Ledger would play the infamous Joker. I had always admired Heath's talent and versatile acting style so I am eager to see his take on our favorite villain.

eBay Giving Works has an amazing auction up! You still have one day to bid for an exclusive chance to win FOUR Premiere AND After Party Tickets for "The Dark Knight!"--one of the most anticipated premieres of 2008! The latest installment of the Batman series premieres at IMAX Loews Lincoln Square in New York City on Monday, July 14 at 7 p.m. The winning bidder and three guests will also earn access to the exclusive after party at the Mandarin Oriental Ballroom on the 36th Floor!

So not only will you be at the very first showing and possibly brush elbows with Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine or Morgan Freeman, but you'll also get to party in style AND benefit Plan!t Now who is hosting the auction! Do not let this opportunity pass you by! Any New Yorker (or person able to round up some friends and head that way) would be quite lucky to pick these up!!!

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TAGS: eBay Giving Works, The Dark Knight, Auction, Heath Ledger

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Friday, the booth and awards

I have to admit, I woke up a little groggy on Friday, and mostly I blame it on the person in the next room playing Air Supply at 3am, you KNOW who you are! ;-) So hoping that that person is not "all out of love", here's a recap of what happened:

We had a lot of great visitors to the booth, including 2 "celebrities". The 1st was Mr. Chris Dawson, one of the "duo" who operates Tamebay. Chris is a big supporter of our UK program "eBay For Charity". Chris and KC posed for a picture.


Shortly after, our CEO John Donahoe stopped by as well to talk to some folks, as you can see...the trend here is that the famous peeps are always near KC.


We had our eBay Giving Works cocktail party which launches the 5th year anniversary celebrations of the program.

People mingled to the best itunes mix ever and partook of some nice wine and Chicago's very own "Old Style". We also handed out our annual Golden Ribbon awards, which recognize both fundraising and advocacy using our program.

So with that...(envelope please)...the winners are:

•2008 Golden Ribbon Award, Community Seller: Danna Crawford, eBay User ID danna

Danna Crawford, who has been selling a variety of clothing, household, entertainment and sporting goods items on eBay for over 10 years, supports various nonprofits through her eBay listings. She has also served as a committed eBay Giving Works advocate, launching an eBay Group called “Just Be Cause Auctions,” to help other sellers grow their eBay businesses through cause marketing. Crawford also shares the benefits of eBay Giving Works through her radio personal radio show and through her eBook, called “Charity Auctions.”

•2008 Golden Ribbon Award, Nonprofit: Make Yourself Foundation, Incubus, eBay User ID makeyourselffoundation

The Make Yourself Foundation is a nonprofit organization conceived by the members of the rock band Incubus, which auctions tickets and memorabilia via eBay Giving Works. The Foundation allows band members to use a portion of their proceeds from all band-related activity and online eBay sales to fund various environmental and arts-related causes which include the Surfrider Foundation, Save the Music, Future Forests and Heal the Bay. Last year, the Foundation raised over $600,000 for causes like these via eBay Giving Works auctions.

•2008 Top Community Selling Fundraiser Award: Todd Denlinger, eBay User ID snowdealsnow

In 2007, ski equipment seller, Todd Denlinger, located in Warriors Mark, Pa., raised over $80,000 for Farm Sanctuary, the leader in farm animal protection. This marks the second year that Denlinger has won this award after donating 10 percent of sales to Farm Sanctuary.

•2008 Top Nonprofit Fundraiser Through Direct Selling Award: CarAngel Ministries, eBay User ID boatangel

With the goal of aiding the world’s impoverished and underprivileged women and children, CarAngel provides them with scholarships, means of transportation and educational/rehabilitation materials. It raised over $3.62 million in 2007 by selling vehicles and boats on eBay. CarAngel also received this inaugural award in 2007


It's raining today, but hopefully that won't stop the applause!

-RG

TAGS: eBay Giving Works, Golden Ribbon Award

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In 2005 the members of Linking Park formed a charity called Music For Relief. This charity has helped aid relief efforts to thousands of victims of natural disasters. Not only does this charity aim to aid victims of tragedies, it also hopes to use its funds to help educate people on ways to reduce their carbon foot prints as well as reduce the chances of future tragedies. The charity has raised over $2.5 million, the money going towards aiding the victims, especially children, of natural disasters. This charity has planted over 790.000 trees, and aims to help reduce global warming.

Linkin Park is auctioning VIP packages for this summer’s Projekt Revolution tour. Each stop on the tour (which sadly does not include Utah) has its own auction. The package includes two tickets, a private meet and greet with two band members, meet and greet with Linkin Park, and one Linkin Park large Molotov t-shirt. 100% of all proceeds will go directly to Music For Relief.

The auction is available on eBay Giving Works and is running now through June 26th. So, if you’re as excited about this event as I am, I hope you start your bidding now!

Projekt Revolution has an awesome lineup this year! The Projekt Revolution tour includes a Main stage, as well as a Revolution stage. On the Main stage Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, The Bravery, Busta Rhymes, and Ashes Divide will be performing. On the Revolution stage Atreyu, 10 Years, Hawthorne Heights, Armor For Sleep, as well as Street Drum Corps will play.

I love hearing how bands and celebrities use their fame to promote positive messages. I think it is very respectable when figures the public deems as role models help raise money or create charities to give back to the community.

TAGS: Linkin Park, Projekt Revolution, Music For Relief, Natural Disasters, eBay Giving Works

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