Wise investment

For a mere $30k, you can change the life of one young woman, while another changes yours:

How much for date with Jessica Biel?

Money to help teenager who lost leg in accident

Thursday, July
20, 2006; Posted: 5:05 p.m. EDT (21:05 GMT)

DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- A date with Jessica Biel has raised $30,000 to help a teenager who lost her leg in a prom night limousine accident.

Jeanne Lee, an organizer of the event dubbed "Mollypalooza," told The Associated Press the winning bid came from a man who requested anonymity. The event Tuesday raised at least $44,000 to help Molly Bloom's family with medical expenses, Lee said.

Biel, Esquire's "Sexiest Woman Alive" and a former "7th Heaven" star, "has this opportunity to create a buzz that would provide some support and she's more than happy to do that," her father, Jonathan Biel, told KMGH-TV. He said it was his daughter's idea to hold the auction for a lunch date.

Biel, a Boulder native who is on location in Italy filming the movie "Next," was not at the fundraiser. In an audio message, she said, "I promise, I'm a cheap date."

Lee said the winner wrote a check but it had not been cashed as of Wednesday. The lunch date is set for August 18 when Biel is in town to receive a humanitarian award, she said.

Bloom was run over and dragged about 38 feet by a Hummer stretch limousine on May 13, police said. Limousine driver Stanley D. Sample, 38, faces a misdemeanor charge of careless driving resulting in serious bodily injury.

Bloom is undergoing rehabilitation at a Denver hospital.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.

Biel, you may recall, was trapped in a career-limiting contract with Disney/ABC at the age of 17 when she posed semi-nude for Gear Magazine, hoping to get released from her agreement (which she did). I still believe this to be one of the hottest photo shoots of all-time.