Memorabilia Auction Raises $80,000 For Haiti

One lucky Coldplay fan helped relief efforts by placing the winning bid on a jacket worn by frontman Chris Martin during the band’s “Viva la Vida” tour, bringing in £9,600 (US $15,322), according to Reuters.

The auction also included the Fender Stratocaster guitar played by Arctic Monkeys’s Alex Turner in the video for “I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor” as well as three pairs of VIP tickets to this year’s edition of Glastonbury.

The guitar raised £4,600 ($7,342) and the Glastonbury tickets were auctioned for £7,000 each ($11,172).

It’s not too late to help out and pick up your own piece of music memorabilia because the auction has been extended from Tuesday to Friday.

Items still up for grabs include Elton John’s Versace Suit (current bid at £1,541 / 2,460), a guitar smashed by Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl (current bid at £430 / $686 ), a limited edition Tous handbag signed by Kylie Minogue (current bid at £101 / $161) and a tennis racquet autographed by Vampire Weekend and used in their upcoming video for “Give Up The Gun” (current bid at £77/ $123).

 You can also bid on an Adele European Tour Package (current bid at £1,000 / $1,596) a Marc Jacobs dress worn by Corinne Bailey Rae (current bid at £102 / $163 ), a Manic Street Preachers signed and custon-made amp (current bid at £670 / $1,069) and a Manic Street Preachers Red Fender Tornado (current bid at £980 / $1,564).

Non-music items include a Damien Hirst print (current bid at £12,100 / $19,311), a signed photo from TV’s The Sopranos (current bid at £208 / $332) and a one week stay at Jura Lodge on the Isle of Jura in Scotland’s Western Isles (current bid at £3,200 / $5,107).

On Thursday Oxfam announced its independent affiliate groups have raised nearly $90 million and that the organization planned on spending $18 million of these funds in the next six months.

Oxfam said it has raised enough money to “fully fund its immediate emergency work in Haiti over the next six months” and thus will focus on collecting donations to help the country over the next three-to-five years.

“We are putting our priority on reaching as many more people with emergency assistance and we are also planning for longer-term rebuilding,” said Oxfam’s humanitarian director Fernando Almansa.

“This will involve helping to rehabilitate water and sanitation systems in poorer urban neighborhoods. We will also look at appropriate ways of helping people to increase their food production in sustainable ways. We will help local communities to have a voice in how the government and the international community go about rebuilding Haiti.”

Since the Jan. 12 earthquake hit Haiti, Oxfam has helped reach 85,000 people with water, sanitation and temporary shelter with plans to assist up to 25,000 more. 
The organization is also helping with efforts to clear up neighborhoods, dig latrines and hand out essential hygiene kits.

Click here for Oxfam’s Web site.

Click here for Oxfam’s eBay shop.

Click here for the Reuters article.