Chenoweth, Menzel, O'Donnell and Andrews Help 'Elephant Project'

Celebrities from the Broadway, film, music and TV worlds have been posing for photos with elephants for a charity project called the Elephant Project to benefit the Alzheimer's Association.

The Elephant Project's goal is to raise funds and awareness for the Alzheimer's Association through celebrity participation. The elephant is the symbol of the project as "elephants never forget." Stars, such as Julie Andrews, Jennifer Garner, Adam Sandler, Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, Leona Lewis and Rosie O'Donnell, have been posing with an elephant beanie baby and signing special Elephant Project cards in order to create items for auctions. Rounds of auctions are held every few months, with each celebrity package consisting of an 8x10 photo of the celebrity and an elephant, an autographed card, and an elephant beanie baby.

The current round of auctions consists of 41 auctions, which will all go live on eBay the week of July 21st, with 5 to 6 auctions beginning each day. All auctions will last seven days. The first set of auctions ends on July 28th, with a few ending each day after, until August 3rd. The focus of this round of auctions is to fundraise for the 2008 Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk in which the Elephant Project team will participate on October 12th in Pearl River, NY. Visit www.elephantproject.org to learn how to join a Memory Walk in your area and to get links to the auctions.  

The Elephant Project was created in July 2006 by 17-year old David Niederhoffer after his grandfather passed away from Alzheimer's disease. He wanted to create an organization to raise awareness and funds for the Alzheimer's Association, and to get teenagers more active in community service. The Elephant Project is officially recognized and supported by the Alzheimer's Association, which has assisted the project in many aspects.  

Visit http://www.elephantproject.org for more information and to view the current auction schedule with details on how to bid. Information on how to donate to the Alzheimer's Association through the Elephant Project is listed on the website. 

Photo by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.