To the fans of Bette Midler,

I am writing to you all on behalf of the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
The Foundation is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. It
was founded in December 1998 by Dennis and Judy Shepard in memory of
their 21-year old
son, Matthew, who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime.

The Foundation's goal is to educate and replace hate with
understanding, acceptance and compassion.

I am excited to let you know that Bette Midler has autographed a
custom-made teddy bear to be auctioned off during our "Bear to Make A
Difference" benefit on March 20th. To view Bette's bear and many
others, please log onto http://www.MatthewShepard.org/bears Ebay
bidding begins on March 10th and continues until the evening of March
20th during the benefit.

Please feel free to pass this on to all of Bette's fans. We want
everyone to have the opportunity to win this fabulous "Diva Bear"
personalized by Bette.