Real Tech For A Cause. We’re Raising Money For Japan. Join Us!

By: Jenna Gonzalez (Editor In Chief)

Update April 20, 2011: It is with overjoyed hearts that we would like to thank everyone who took part in our charity auction. Through the auction, we have raised $2,474! We’ve also donated $1,000 to match your retweets and reposts on Facebook. We would like to proudly announce the winners of our auction and thank them for helping us with a truly great cause:

Gilbert Marcoux from Red Deer, AB, Canada

Gert Geringer from Rivonia Gauteng, South Africa

Evgeniy Konstantinov from Novosibirsk, Russia

Enrique Ford from Elizabethtown, Kentucky

Simon Nguyen from Lilburn, Georgia

Philip Digiore from Exton, Pennsylvania

Yeivgeny Broitman from Roden, Netherlands

Update April 11, 2011: The auction starts at 8 PM Pacific Time. All items will be on a 7-day auction, and 100% of all proceeds go to the Japanese Tsunami Relief. You can find the whole lineup here http://tinyurl.com/3tor57j (One started on Sunday, April 10 to help you find your way) Not only do we have some amazing gadgets & free extras up for bids…You will be helping a lot of people in great need, so please pass this on to all your friends on FB, email & Twitter.
 

To hear Jenna’s heartfelt message instead, click play below

It’s both shocking and amazing how one moment in time can leave such a stunning impact on our lives. How one moment can leave scars on our souls forever. The last few weeks have been marked with sadness for many of us. I still remember that fateful day when I woke up to the devastating news that Japan was hit with a double disaster. First, a jarring earthquake…then a massive wall of water that wiped out so many lives in the blink of an eye. I want you to close your eyes for a few seconds and think to that moment in time. Where were you? What we’re you doing? What was the first thing you felt in your heart? Dreadful isn’t it? Now I want you to think about those moments again…only this time, you’re right there. Not too long before that, you were trying to finish up work so you could pick up some food on the way home. Maybe you were cleaning up the house, waiting for your kids to come home from school; Or maybe you just got off the phone with your grandparents, telling them how excited you were to see them over the weekend. Now you have no food to pick up, much less a place to go home to. Your children aren’t there. In their place is a feeling of dread that you may never see them again. You realize you’ve spoken to your grandparents for the very last time. Now open your eyes. Tell me how you feel…

How can you describe despair?

If you’re reading this, you’re likely in a place far more comfortable than most. You have a job, a family. You’ll make a trip to the store and buy some groceries today. Your kids will come home from school and you’ll be there to greet them. You’ll hang up the phone knowing you’ll see your beloved grandparents this weekend. You’re safe. You have a life.

How do you turn back time to save someone?

For so many people in Japan, there is no such thing as life. Instead, there is only the overwhelming sadness of losing everything that ever meant anything to them. For the thousands who have perished, all you can do is hope and pray that they are in a better place now.  In your hearts, you feel sorry for those affected. You may have even shed a few tears at the mere thought of it.  Today, you’ll call an old friend just to see how he’s doing. You’ll put aside some differences with your parents. You’ll choose to cook lasagna from scratch instead of ordering take-out for your family. You’ll hold your children tighter than usual as you kiss them goodnight. Then you’ll lay in bed, thanking the heavens for all the good things you’re often too blind to see.

How do you tell them there is nothing left?

Tommorow, you’ll have another day to create fond memories. Not them. For the millions who have lost their loved ones, it’s not overreaching to say that they have suffered a fate much worse than death.  Theirs is to live on with the incredible pain of never being able to hold their children again. To never say I’m sorry to someone they fought with; I miss you to an old friend; I’ll see you soon to a grandparent; I love you to a child…or goodbye to any of them.

How do you measure a parent's suffering?

As some of you have always known, MRT is a non-profit site. Our staff does not get paid, and whatever little money we make from minor ads is barely enough to cover our monthly site-hosting fees. There is only so much a little non-profit site like ours can do, but we do what we can with everything we have, as evidenced by the hundreds of prizes we’ve given out to our fans, almost all of them we purchased ourselves. Last December, we were proud to announce raising $2,000 for the Marine Toys For Tots Foundation in time for the holiday season. Starting Monday April 11 to Monday April 18, 2011, MRT will be holding an online auction on Ebay. Some of my favorite gadgets will be sold to the highest bidder. Some in MINT CONDITION and most BRAND NEW Sealed in the box. Much like December’s successful auction, 100% of profits will go towards helping our brothers & sisters in Japan. Here are a few things that I’m donating:

1.) 32 GB wi-fi Apple iPad 1 (Mint Condition) Plus $99 Leather Monaco Case, $50 Dragon Moss Bamboo Case & $79 Blueant T1 Bluetooth Headset

2.) Samsung Galaxy Tab (Global Unlocked) Plus $60 Samsung white case/stand, $50 Galaxy Tab Black Leather Folio & $30 ZAGG Full-Body Invisible Shield

3.) Motorola Defy (Brand New) Plus $25 ZAGG Full-Body Invisible Shield

4.) HTC Mytouch 4G (Brand New) Plus $25 ZAGG Full-Body Invisible Shield

5.) Google Nexus S (Mint Condition) Plus $79 Blueant T1 Bluetooth Headset

6.) Samsung Focus (WP7 OS Mint Condition) Fully covered by our friends at Zagg with the Invisible Shield

7.) $179 Monster Diddy Beats by: Dr Dre (Brand New Sealed)

MRT will also donate $1 For every person that retweets & reposts on Facebook, up to $1,000 so please spread the word. In the meantime, you can donate any small amount to the RED CROSS at www.redcross.org

I will be updating this post as soon as the auctions start. Please stay tuned and help us help those that are in dire need of our kind assistance at this time. One of the simplest, easiest, most lasting memories we can create with our loved ones is setting honorable examples for them to live by. Our children can only grow up kind if we show them compassion today. At the end of the day when you lay in your bed, what memories will you have made with them? As you read the remainder of these words right now, think again about your loved ones. Then imagine them gone in a flash. What will you give up to save the ones you love? What are you willing to give to ease another’s pain? I’ve chosen to give up a few of my hard earned purchases to help others. It’s the least I can do. The question is, what about you? ~Jenna