Today’s Milan-Sanremo started with a minute’s silence for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, as well as being a gesture to show solidarity with the badly-affected country. Several of cycling’s top pro teams have generously donated items to an auction being held in Norway to raise money for Save The Children’s Japan Appeal. It begins today and runs for eight days, and some great items are on offer:
- HTC Highroad jersey, signed by Milan-Sanremo team including race winner Matt Goss, 2009 victor Mark Cavendish, Michael Albasini, Lars Ytting Bak, Bernhard Eisel, Mark Renshaw, Bert Grabsch and Peter Velits
- HTC Highroad jersey, to be signed by the women’s team for the Ronde Van Vlaanderen in April 2011
- Special Edition Team Sky jersey, worn by Kurt Asle Arvesen during Milan-Sanremo and signed by him
- Special Edition Team Sky jersey, signed by the Milan-Sanremo team of Edvald Boasson Hagen, Kurt-Asle Arvesen, Juan Antonio Flecha, Thomas Löfkvist, Michael Rogers, Ian Stannard, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins
- Liquigas jersey, signed by Ivan Basso, Vincenzo Nibali and Peter Sagan
- Garmin-Cervélo kit (jersey and shorts)
100% of the money raised will go to Save the Children’s Japan Appeal, so it’s a very worthwhile cause. Winning bidders can get some very rare items, and also do their part in helping those who have been badly affected by the disasters in Japan.
Some details:
An estimated 100 000 children are now living in evacuation centres in Japan. Save The Children Japan are working with children in evacuation centres, creating child-friendly spaces where they can play, learn, deal with everything that’s happened and just be kids. This is an important part of dealing with the trauma they have been through, and also allows parents to deal with things they might need to do and know that their children are in a safe place.
Two child-friendly spaces have already been set up, one in Sendai and one in Asahi, and more will be set up in the coming days. Equipment to set up more child-friendly spaces are on the way from Tokyo and out to the areas which need it the most.
Save The Children have also helped the Japanese government and Japanese Red Cross with handing out food, water and blankets, as it has started snowing and got a lot colder in the last few days.
The auction can be found online here: click for link
Descriptions of items are in English (click the image or the title), but the auctions are in Norwegian. In order to avoid any confusion, Save the Children Norway will act on the bidder’s behalf.
Simply contact Mona Lock Skålevik in the following ways to bid:
Twitter: @Monals85
Email: mona.skaalevik@hotmail.com
Phone: +47 47416796
Good luck with the auction, and thanks for helping a great cause!