Tom Hanks has partnered with the Freeplay Foundation in a eBay charity auction to bring essential radio communication to children and adults in Africa. Now through February 1, 10 Tom Hanks autographed, self-powered Freeplay Lifeline Radios are for sale on eBay.com. The winning bidders will also receive a personal letter and signed photo from Hanks. (Right: Tom Hanks with the Freeplay Llifeline Radio. Photo Credit: © The Freeplay Foundation)

Lifeline radios are the first radios ever produced specifically for use in humanitarian projects and are not sold commercially. They are distributed by the Freeplay Foundation and are used in Africa for distance-learning programs in English, math, science and life skills.

The Freeplay Lifeline Radio is powered by a hand crank and a solar panel and does not require batteries or electricity crucial to a region with some of the poorest people in the world.

You can view the bidding (or bid yourself) by going to this link at eBay.