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Olympians Auction Gear to Aid Causes

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SAM Magazine-Park City, Utah, Mar. 4, 2010-American Olympians are auctioning a variety of gear to benefit causes ranging from earthquake victims in Haiti to a cancer victim at Lake Tahoe.

Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn has teamed with TV host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres to continue the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti by auctioning a signed pair of skis and poles on eBay.

The Head skis and Leki poles, which feature Ellen's face and Vonn's autograph, are up for grabs at www.ebay.com until 3:12 p.m. ET on Mar. 9. All proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund.

The equipment was a gift to Vonn during her Mar. 2 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show following her Olympic gold and bronze medals at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Vonn, in turn decided to donate the skis and poles to aid Haiti.

Closer to home-and to the USST itself-five-time Olympic medalist Bode Miller is auctioning his signed Olympic helmet on eBay to raise money for Pam Warman, a former U.S. Ski Team technician who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

The helmet, which Miller wore in the Olympic slalom, can be found at www.ebay.com. The auction ends Wednesday, Mar. 10 at 10:15 p.m. ET. Other Olympians, including three-time Olympic medalist Julia Mancuso, Steve Nyman, and Bryon Friedman, are also auctioning items.

Warman, originally from Portillo, Chile, tuned skis for the U.S. Ski Team from 2001-2006. She lives at Lake Tahoe and spends her winters working with Sierra at Tahoe Resort.

U.S. Olympians have shown this sort of generosity before. Mancuso organized an auction earlier this season for Haiti relief, and has given $40,000 a year to various causes. Vonn contributed to Mancuso's earlier effort for Haiti, auctioning a signed race bib from the Cortina d'Ampezzo World Cup. The bib sold on eBay for $8,600.