and here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5552696499

Big thanks to the guys at thinktecture who found themselves a little late to reply “YES YES OF COURSE!!” to being in the first .NET Celebrity Auction to Aceh Aid at IDEP. They have offered to cover the eBay seller fees that Stephen and I have to pay for this auction. We have tried to contact eBay about removing the fee of 1.5% for any amount our auction recieves abouto $1,000 (that’s the total not the 30 individual donations). eBay is very careful about trying to protect buyers from the many many fraudulent “charity auctions” and unfortunately it has made things extremely complex and difficult for Stephen and I in trying to make this thing fly.

One of the groups that is intimately involved with Aceh Aid at IDEP is the local surf guides from Sumatran Surfariis.

Okay – yes they are adorable and hunky young guys, but that’s not my point. They are part of the amazing effort that is being made in Sumatra. They have been writing about what they are doing and seeing and it’s really interesting reading. Right here.

http://www.AcehAid.org

Update 2/10/05: The auction raised an amazing $10,138!!!
Thanks to everyone who bid and helped us promote it.
We will hopefully be having another one soon.

PLEASE SEE STEPHEN FORTE’S BLOG POST REGARDING DETAILS OF THE 30 CONSULTANTS AND UPDATED DETAILS ON HOW THE AUCTION WILL FUNCTION.

30 of the top trainers and consultants in the .NET community will be auctioning off one hour each of their consulting time in a big EBay auction that will start sometime in the next few days (or early next week). Watch this space (and those of the auction items <g> for the date to be announced.

The auction is to benefit Aceh Aid at IDEP who is doing amazing disaster recovery work in Aceh Province Sumatra. All of the money goes DIRECTLY to helping the victims since Aceh Aid at IDEP is a local organization in Sumatra.

You can learn more about what they are doing from the above link, by reading Susi Johnston’s weblog or by filtering on Asia in my own blog. This is the group that Keith Pleas and I have been working with so closely since the Tsunami disaster hit.

Who is in this auction?

Lots of INETA speakers, Regional Directors and Wintellects!!

From Wintellect: Jeffery Richter, John Robbins and Jeff Prosise

A slew of amazingly brilliant RDs: Michele Leroux Bustamante, Jonathan Goodyear, Andrew Brust, Richard Campbell , Kimberly Tripp, Adam Cogan ,Malek Kummou , Jackie Goldstein, Goskin Bakir, Hector M Obregon , Patrick Hynds , Fernando Guerrero , Kate Gregory , Joel Semeniuk , Scott Hanselman , Barry Gervin , Clemens Vasters , Jorge Oblitas , Stephen Forte, John Lam, Edgar Sánchez, Thomas Lee, J. Michael Palermo IV, Vishwas Lele

And if that’s not enough, a few more brilliant stars: Deborah Kurata, Ted Neward and Kathleen Dollard 

This is a wonderful contribution by these people and demonstrates what I love so much about this community.

So open up your hearts (to enable Aceh Aid at IDEP continue with their phenomenal and necessary work – it is still a horror story in Sumatra and we cannot let up), open up your minds (to having access to some of the most talented .NET programmer consultants in the world) and warm up those credit cards!

Also, since there are many more wonderful and brilliant people in our community that I am sure will want to do this too (we just had to limit ourselves for this first one) I hope that we can do more of these in the near future!

How this will work

This will be ONE BIG FAT auction. The top 25 bidders will win. Bids start at $100. The auction will last 10 days. Unlike a typical “multi-item” auction, where the winners would pay the amount of the lowest winning bid, in THIS auction, the TOP bidder will get first pick of consultants and then on down the line. You will pay your winning bid directly to Aceh Aid at IDEP’s PayPal account: [email protected].

Due Diligence

Online Donations are made via PayPal donation to [email protected]. The Tides Foundation is a US-based 501c3 non-profit, permitting tax-deductible contributions and supported by many corporate matching programs. PayPal takes most credit cards. For people who cannot use PayPal , there are other ways to make the payment. Money can be wired directly to Aceh Aid at IDEP or (for the 501c3 payment) checks can be mailed to Tides or money wired directly to them. So don’t worry about not being able to participate. If you can do any of these 4 options, BID BID BID!!!

From Chris Pels’ blog:

The IRS has enacted a new law which allows individuals to deduct contributions to recognized charitable organizations for Tsunami relief on your 2004 tax return even if you make the donation through 1.31.2005. Usually those contributions would have to be made by 12.31.2004. Read the IRS guidelines on what determines if an organization would qualify before making your donation. This is a great opportunity to help so many people in need and qualify for a deduction as well.

http://www.AcehAid.org

http://www.AcehAid.org

Susi  Johnston posted a picture and an explanation of an elephant helping the Aceh Aid at IDEP volunteers in Aceh Province. Here’s the picture.

With new stories in the media about concern for western aid workers in Aceh Province, it is extremely heartening to see that the aid coming from IDEP (the folks I’m working with) is being supported by the Indonesian military.

From Susi’s blog:

The Indonesian military and other groups have come together in support of IDEP’s mission on the Sumatran coast, and it is with their blessings and support that the work continues.

http://www.AcehAid.org

give ’em a hand if you can

http://weblogs.asp.net/coltk/archive/2005/01/07/347718.aspx

http://www.AcehAid.org

If you are at CES, remember Aceh Aid (www.AcehAid.org).

Here is what they still need. It is GREAT p.r. for manufacturer’s to donate stuff and it makes everyone feel like they have been able to do something useful to help in the wake of the horrible disaster.

http://www.AcehAid.org