CHARITY AUCTION #4--BENEFITTING PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH! COLLECTING DONATIONS

[airplanenut]

Howdy!

 

As many of you know, since 2003, I have held 3 charity auctions on the CU and NGC Boards. With these three auctions, the generosity of so many has been seen--over 400 lots have been donated, hundreds of bids placed, and OVER $10,000 RAISED! For the support I have received, I am forever grateful.

 

If I may tell a short story. My grandfather grew up in London, and, upon leaving a vocational school, began working as an airplane mechanic in the RAF. When he left the RAF, he worked for BOAC at Heathrow. Daily, he biked ten miles each way to work. In 1963, he moved his family, including my mother, to Los Angeles, where he began working in the hangers for Continental at LAX. He left Continental and became a professor at a technical institute before retiring.

 

In the summer of 1998, I went with my family to tour France and England. Our fourth flight brought us to London, where one of our stops was the house where my mother spent her first years. Standing outside the front door, I looked up and saw a 747, landing gear down, on approach to Heathrow. Everything clicked. I fell in love with aviation that day. For the next year and a half, I became very close to my grandfather, although we lived 3000 miles away. His passion for aviation was so evident when he talked with me. Then, he got cancer.

 

It was 1999, and I was in sixth grade. I knew nothing of his disease, and figured that everything would be all right. Afterall, he was being treated by excellent doctors at a great hospital. But I was wrong. He passed away February 5, 2000, having fought his hardest against a terrible enemy, pancreatic cancer. He was a month shy of turning 65.

 

In December of 2002, my biology class was assigned a research project on "any topic related to biology." Finally having the ability to understand my grandfather's illness, I did a project on pancratic cancer. The project, a website, can be viewed here. Unfortunately, most of the information is still accurate--the survival rate of pancreatic cancer is about zero, and it is virtually undetectable before it spreads. Research is also terribly underfunded.

 

This project inspired me to hold my first charity auction on the CU boards in 2003. The success of that auction led to a second, and then a third, in total, raising $10,100.

 

Saturday, February 5, 2005, was a cool day, and the sky was crystal clear. I looked up, and I saw a United Airlines 757, climbing away from Newark. I looked silently, and I thought of my grandfather, as I do often. My walls are plastered with his old radio operator's licenses and BOAC Inspector Approvals. He is the reason so many know me as "Airplanenut."

 

So today, I would like to announce the beginning of my fourth Charity auction. All proceeds will benefit the RS Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, which is based at UCLA, where my grandfather received his treatments. Their website is located here. The auction will work as it has in the past. I will be taking donations for a few weeks, and will then proceed to auction off each item on a website that I will create (it should be functioning within a week or two). All proceeds, those from the auctioning of items, as well as monetary donations, will be sent to this incredibly worth cause.

 

Unfortunately, with college looming ahead, I am afraid I won't be able to hold another auction after this one due to the time they require. So far, $10,100 has been raised. What could be better than bringing that number to $15,000 or more? The last auction raised $5,400, so I know it is possible. In March, my grandfather would be turning 70. I know he's watching, and what better present could he receive than having this auction held in his honor?

 

If you would like to donate, please send any items to:

 

Jeremy Katz

PO Box 149

Summit, NJ 07902

 

Include your name, address, and email/forum ID so I can be sure who sent the package. If you'd like, send a PM to tell me it's on the way.

 

Alternatively, if you would like to ship the items yourself, you can send me a PM or email with the items you will be donating, and any pictures you may have.

 

All items are greatly appreciated--U.S. coins, world coins, bullion, currency, holders, books, and anything else numismatic. Monetary donations are also greatly appreciated (please make checks out to "Jeremy Katz" so the funds can be a part of the all-encompassing check I will write when the auction concludes).

 

I will update this thread as the website becomes functioning--it will have all of the above information, and information about how bidding will work, etc.

 

From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for your support, from the time in 2003 when I began my first auction, to the present day.

 

 

Jeremy Katz, Airplanenut