Ready, aim, fire off your bids for tsunami relief

THE ARGUS - UNION CITY, CA - FEBRUARY 28, 2005

SWAT training normally is the realm of the police department's elite. But on Tuesday night, you won't even need to be a police officer to qualify. Just be the highest bidder.

Training for two with the SWAT team will be one of two prizes up for auction that night, to raise money for tsunami relief. The money will go to Feed the Children, a nonprofit relief organization that delivers food and other necessities to children and others in need.

The fire department also will chip in, auctioning off dinner for four at a city fire station. Firefighters, including Fire Chief Chris Maxwell, will prepare and serve the dinner.

The free event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at Southern Wine and Spirits. It came about practically by accident.

Caravan Trading Co., which makes MREs - Meals Ready to Eat - for the military, had a production overrun of several hundred thousand meals. Joseph Maroun Jr., whose family owns the company, came up with the idea of donating some of the extra meals to victims of the tsunamis that devastated parts of South Asia in December.

It tool Maroun a month to work through the logistics of shipping more than 100,000 meals and getting them to the people who need them most. Gifts In Kind International, a philanthropic organization that helps other charities do their work, put him in touch with Salesian Missions. The Catholic missionaries provide food in the world's most impoverished areas and are already working in the areas hit hardest by the tsunami.

On Thursday morning, two trucks arrived at Caravan and crated away 120 cases of MREs, each counting about 150 of the meals.

But Maroun wasn't satisfied with just sending food. By teaming up with city officials and the Chamber of Commerce, he was able to get local businesses involved, resulting in the upcoming event.

In addition to the auctions, the American Red Cross will give a short presentation that will include a survivor from the floods. There also will be free food and drinks.

"It's a good opportunity for the average citizen to meet elected officials, the fire chief and the police chief - and for a good cause," Maroun said.

Police Chief Randy Ulibarri said the event is especially important because several months have passed since the disaster. "We're trying to keep this fresh in everybody's minds. There are still people starving. This situation is not over by any stretch of the imagination," he said.