Chefs for Humanity's eBay Auction to Benefit Hurricane Katrina Survivors

Chefs for Humanity's eBay Auction to Benefit Hurricane Katrina Survivors

Sept. 12-21 event benefits UNICEF, features 23 world-famous chefs

NEW YORK, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Less than nine months after its creation by Food Network's Iron Chef Cat Cora, Chefs for Humanity continues to make a great impact, providing food and humanitarian aid for people impacted by hunger and tragedy. Survivors of Hurricane Katrina now will receive aid raised by the organization.

Chefs for Humanity's Sept. 12-21 fundraising event, an eBay auction of autographed chefs' jackets will benefit UNICEF, earmarked for Hurricane Katrina relief. And for the first time in UNICEF's six decades of providing humanitarian aid to children around the world, the international relief organization has been requested to assist with an emergency response in the United States.

"You see the devastation on TV. You see the children crying, hungry, with so little hope," said Cora, who founded Chefs for Humanity immediately following the massive tsunami that hit southeast Asia and Africa in December 2004. "And you wonder how you can help, what you can do. I founded this organization for times just like this -- so people can have an avenue to help those in need. This is just one opportunity.

"Hurricane Katrina has touched my life personally, as I have family in Jackson, Miss., and I have friends from some of the most devastated areas. We can help rebuild this beautiful section of the country and the hundreds of thousands of lives torn apart by Katrina. And this eBay auction is just one of the first steps."

Chefs for Humanity's "Jackets off our Backs" eBay auction features nearly two dozen world-famous chefs, including 10 celebrity chefs from the Food Network. Auction participants include: Food Network's Mario Batali, Cat Cora, Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence, Gale Gand, Emeril Lagasse, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Sara Moulton, Rachael Ray, and Ming Tsai.

For a complete list of participating chefs and to bid on jackets, visit http://www.chefsforhumanity.org/ .

About Chefs for Humanity

Chefs for Humanity, a 501(c)3 organization, is dedicated to changing lives impacted by hunger and tragedy. Founded in 2004 by renowned chefs Cat Cora and Patrick McDonnell, Chefs for Humanity's coalition of world-famous culinary professionals responds when disaster aid and hunger relief are needed around the world. The organization mobilizes new audiences and resources to raise funds for worldwide humanitarian efforts and seeks to develop health and nutrition education programs to permanently improve the lives of those affected by hunger, malnutrition and poverty. For more information, visit http://www.chefsforhumanity.org/ .

About UNICEF

Founded in 1946, UNICEF helps save, protect and improve the lives of children around the world through immunization, education, health care, nutrition, clean water and sanitation. UNICEF is non-partisan and its cooperation is free of discrimination. In everything it does, the most disadvantaged children and the countries in greatest need have priority. For more information or to make a donation, please visit http://www.unicefusa.org/ or call 1 (800) 4 UNICEF.

Source: Chefs for Humanity

CONTACT: Vickie Jones, +1-202-333-0400, ext. 128, vjones@reingold.com , for Chefs for Humanity

Web site: http://www.chefsforhumanity.org/ http://www.unicefusa.org/

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