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"Dying to become blood buddies with The Vampire Diaries&amp;apos; Ian Somerhalder? It&amp;apos;s time to seize the opportunity.\r\nThe actor, 33, is auctioning off a lunch date in Atlanta via Charitybuzz. All proceeds will benefit the Ian Somerhalder Foundation, which is in the process of building an animal sanctuary.\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;There are too many animals that are abused, mistreated, and abandoned. They&amp;apos;ve been ostracized, they have behavioral issues, and they&amp;apos;re starving,&amp;quot; Somerhalder, who&amp;apos;s dating his costar Nina Dobrev, 23, tells Entertainment Weekly. &amp;quot;It&amp;apos;s just unbelievable what we&amp;apos;ve done to the animals, and I think that&amp;apos;s why this is so important.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nThe auction is currently live and will run through July 18; travel and accommodations are not included. &amp;quot;I appreciate you and your generosity,&amp;quot; Somerhalder says. &amp;quot;I will try not to bore you to tears.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nSomerhalder believes that &amp;quot;if we can give animals a home, we can also take the youth of our country and our world -- kids who have behavioral issues, bullying other kids, and halting the progression of those around them -- and bring them together to learn compassion from one another. If you have compassion for an animal, then you&amp;apos;ll ultimately have compassion for another human being.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\n&amp;quot;I&amp;apos;m so tired of the lack of compassion in our world and watching kids grow up in it. I think it&amp;apos;s an amazing opportunity for us to show that having compassion for one another -- and all furry, scaled or feathered creatures -- is the only way we can progress.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/ian-somerhalder-auctioning-off-a-lunch-date-for-charity-201237>