Lomu and Vidiri lend support to charity

Two of New Zealand's biggest names in rugby have got behind a major charity event in Tauranga.

Former All Blacks Jonah Lomu and Joeli Vidiri are supporting this year's sixth annual Bethlehem Foundation Auction and their presence in Tauranga will make an impact in more ways in one.

The Bethlehem Foundation is keeping this year's chosen charity under wraps - for now - but promises it is one worthy of supporting and money raised will have far-reaching impacts on Bay of Plenty children.

Vidiri has committed himself to promoting and attending the event, and Lomu has said he'll be there too, provided he is well enough. Lomu was today back in hospital in Auckland, undergoing dialysis.

The auction, to be held on June 9, has become a premium event in Tauranga.

Last year, the auction raised nearly $10,000 for charity and gave businesses from across the city the chance to fill their homes and offices with the top 50 photographs taken by Bay of Plenty Times photographers in 2011.

Proceeds from the auction were split between the Bethlehem Foundation and Growing Through Grief - Tauranga, which received $2100 from the event.

This year, the event has morphed into a much larger event and proceeds are expected to be in excess of $50,000 with a raft of other high-quality items up for auction, including among many things: jewellery, a new car, a gym subscription, an All Whites shirt signed by captain Ryan Nelsen and a weekend away for two in a French country house.

The Bethlehem Foundation, whose role is to assist with the funding and development of the Bethlehem College Campus and other educational centres provided by the Christian Education Trust, will hold the event at the refurbished Tauranga Racecourse.

Chief executive officer of the foundation Peter Wyatt would not reveal finer details of the black-tie affair but said the event was expected to generate a lasting relationship between this year's charity, and the local community.