ATLANTA (March 15, 2001) -- Some of the biggest names in entertainment and fashion are opening their closets for CARE. Meryl Streep, Annie Lennox, Brooke Shields and Rosie O'Donnell are among the celebrities auctioning off their clothes on www.Bid4betterworld.org to raise money for CARE's work with women.

The online auction begins on March 15 and will last for one month. Organised with Procter and Gamble, makers of Alldays Black, people can vie, on the auction, for a black lycra top from Mel C of the Spice Girls and black gloves worn by Paloma Picasso, as well as dozens of other celebrity items from Cherie Blair, Mel C, Stella McCartney, Paloma Picasso and Rene Russo.

www.bid4betterworld.org features "little black wardrobe items" from the rich and famous, as well as facts about CARE's work with women around the world.

One of the world's largest international relief and development organizations, CARE has poverty eradication programs in more than 60 countries that seek to eliminate the obstacles that women face in improving their lives and the lives of their families. These programs in reproductive health, education, and agricultural and economic development seek to improve the lives of all people through special attention to women.

In 2000, CARE's work with women included:

• In 23 countries, 9.2 million women and children benefited from CARE maternal health programs, reducing the toll and threat of illness and death.
• 5.1 million women and their partners in 26 countries received medical services in family planning, prevention and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
• More than 500,000 people -- 80 percent women -- in 31 countries were assisted with microcredit and savings programs to help them achieve economic self-sufficiency.
• Education programs increased literacy rates and school attendance among women and girls in more than 18 countries.

CARE's website features a special section entitled "CARE for Women" that is dedicated to the struggles and achievements of women in the developing world, and highlights the organization's work in this area as well as opportunities for the public to support CARE's work with women. The CARE for Women site features news, stories, facts and information on an array of CARE's women-specific projects, as well as accounts of CARE's impact on the lives of women worldwide.

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