Paul McCartney gives signed guitar to help elephants

Starting August 13, 2014, the auction for a Martin guitar, signed by Paul McCartney, started. The auction ended on August 24, and the proceeds went to the Nature Conservancy’s African Elephant Initiative.

To have Sir Paul’s support and working with Martin Guitar is a real honor. This caliber of collaboration will make a difference to help end the worst poaching crisis in history.

David Banks, managing director of the The Nature Conservancy’s Africa Program

From paulmccartney.com, August 24, 2014:

Paul is helping to save one of the world’s most beloved species

Paul recently signed a Martin D-28 left-handed guitar, which was put up for auction and raised an astonishing $50,000 within minutes. Bidding began in the morning on eBay with a starting bid of $10,000 and quickly reached the impressive final amount in no time. Proceeds from the auction will go to The Nature Conservancy’s African Elephant Initiative. Alongside his signature, Paul also scribed, “This guitar saves elephants” on the Martin guitar. A fitting slogan since the funds will be used to increase security for elephants on the ground in Africa and reduce demand for ivory.

The Nature Conservancy has worked passionately for decades to conserve valuable animal habitats and watersheds to make the world a better, more sustainable place. It’s estimated that there were 1.2 million elephants in Africa in 1980. Now only about 430,000 remain, with an estimated 20,000 elephants killed last year alone for their tusks.