Tsunami Relief Silent Auction Supported by Terps Athletics

Wave of Hope, a tsunami relief initiative led by Smith students, will be holding a silent auction as part of its fund-raising efforts. Up for bids will be two basketballs and a football signed by coaches and players from the Terps football and men's and women's basketball teams. The auction will take place through the organization's Web site www.waveofhopes.com/auction from May 20-27. (Click on pictures for a larger photo and a list of signatures.)

Wave of Hope is a student-run, non-profit organization, established for the solitary purpose of rebuilding schools and houses in Sri Lanka that were affected by the devastating tsunami. The Tsunami-Relief Silent Auction is Wave of Hope's fourth major fundraising activity to meet the goal of raising $20,000 by the end of June 2005. The efforts by students are 100 percent voluntary and 100 percent of the proceeds are directed to the construction of houses and schools through a partnership with a non-profit organization in Sri Lanka .

Manjula Dissanayake, a senior business major and one of the co-founders of Wave of Hope, is calling on the Smith community to support this noble effort. Close to five months after the tragedy, millions of people in Sri Lanka are still homeless. People will never be able to get back to work or go to school if they do not have a place they can call home. Thus, we need to get them out of the orphanages as quickly as possible.

The following items will be up for auction from May 20-27:

• 1 Terrapin football: signed by 29 players and 4 coaches, including Ralph Fridgen

• 1 Terrapin mens basketball: signed by 10 players and 3 coaches, including Gary Williams

• 1 Terrapin womens basketball: signed by 11 players and 4 coaches

The balls will be sold to the highest bidder at the end of the auction week. There will be a minimum bid of $100 per item. The highest bidder will receive the following:

• The item for which they are the highest bidder

• A certificate of appreciation from the founders of the Wave of Hope organization

• A letter of appreciation from a Sri Lankan family (the recipients of the house, which is built by the funds from the auction)

To place your bid, please visit www.waveofhopes.com/auction. You can also help by buying I helped the Tsunami Victims in Sri Lanka stickers or Tsunami Aid Sri Lanka wristbands.