Keys, Lee Help Keep Children Alive

A group of dedicated charity workers teamed up with Spike Lee and Alicia Keys to help save children in Africa through an auction of modern technology and celebrity glamour.

Determined representatives of Keep A Child Alive were the first in line at Apple’s SoHo store in New York in order to purchase the first highly anticipated iPhone. They arrived at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, June 26 and maintained their prized place by sharing shifts over the four days of waiting. Director Spike Lee personally purchased the first phone on behalf of the charity when they went on sale Friday, June 29th.

The organisation, which gets anti-retroviral treatment to children infected with AIDS in Africa, then offered the iPhone to the highest bidder, along with two Jawbone Bluetooth headsets, two round-trip domestic airline tickets, and two VIP passes to the “Black Ball” charity concert in New York. Keep A Child Alive Ambassador Alicia Keys will leave a personalized voice mail greeting on the phone, and will present it to the winner at the ball honoring Bono this October.

The winning bid at the auction, which ended July 6th, raised $100,000, and 100% of the proceeds go to the organization. Elizabeth Santiso of Keep A Child Alive commented, “We’re thrilled, this iPhone is saving thousands of lives in Africa. We’re so grateful to all of the people who contributed their time, money and energy on behalf of the cause.”