Harley-Davidson Motor Company and Jay Leno raised $800,100 for tsunami relief efforts through the eBay auction of a 2005 Road King, signed by Tonight Show guests. For the past several weeks, the motorcycle was on the set of The Tonight Show, and more than 60 celebrity guests signed it. A total of 219 bids were received for the motorcycle on eBay. David P. Steiner, CEO of Waste Management, Inc., was the winning bidder at $800,100 and all of the proceeds will go to support tsunami relief efforts.
Harley-Davidson donated the 2005 white Road King motorcycle as part of the Harley-Davidson Foundation Tsunami Relief Fund Effort, which will continue throughout 2005. Harley-Davidson has set a goal to raise $1 million, which will be donated to those relief agencies targeting the areas most heavily affected by the disaster.
The Foundation will match monies contributed to the fund by employees, dealers, suppliers and customers on a dollar-for-dollar basis, up to a total Foundation donation of $500,000. The Fund is being administered through U.S. Bank in Milwaukee, Wis. All contributions in excess of $250 will be acknowledged in writing by the Harley-Davidson Foundation for personal accounting/tax receipt purposes.
For more information, visit www.harley-davidson.com and click on the relief effort box.