2010.09.21 - GN'R Daily/Charity Buzz - Tommy Stinson Charity Auction for Haiti Online Now!

Tommy Stinson Charity Auction for Haiti Online Now!

The world's attention has turned elsewhere as Haiti struggles to recover from last January’s historic earthquake. No country has suffered such a massive disaster in a century; 3% of the 9 million population died, a like number suffered injury and illness and 20% are now homeless. The situation in Port au Prince is still threatened by the chaotic situation existing there. Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere has little infrastructure, making every task more difficult.

Tommy Stinon, currently the bassist of Guns N’ Roses and Soul Asylum and formerly of The Replacements, is committed to aiding the fundraising and awareness building efforts in Haiti by working with the Timkatec Centers, three schools located in Petion-Ville, a suburb of Port Au Prince. The three Timkatec schools support 500 children and desperately need financial support. Timkatec 1, a residential Primary school founded in 1994, brings some relief and normalcy to 500 kids in the post earthquake chaos by providing food, shelter, education and structure to homeless and abandoned children, some just 5 years old. Timkatec 2, built in 2005, is a trade school for destitute teenage boys, training as plumbers, electricians, tailors, shoe makers and construction workers; Timkatec 3, founded in 2009, trains teenage girls as cooks, hairdressers, seamstresses and child care workers.

The results are improvements in health, literacy and self-esteem and above all, the ability to support one’s self. Currently, funding for Timkatec comes from "The Friends of Timkatec in America", founded by the O'Shea family and friends in 2004 to build Timkatec 2 and fund its operations.

Tommy Stinson has put several guitars and trademark custom-made plaid suits on the auction site charitybuzz.com.

In a phone call this week during a Guns N' Roses tour stop in Belgrade, Serbia, Stinson told The Associated Press the auction is off to a great start. More than $10,000 has been raised since the monthlong auction started Tuesday. Also being sold are Guns N' Roses VIP concert passes, trips and art by former Replacements drummer Chris Mars.

More information can be found at www.timkatec.org and www.tommystinson.com.

Source: Charitybuzz

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