Idina Menzel Auctions Autographed Childhood Piano to Benefit A BROADER WAY Foundation

Broadway superstar Idina Menzel is raising money for charity- and fans can help.

The IF/THEN star recently listed her childhood piano on Ebay to raise money for A Broader Way, the charity organization founded by Menzel and Taye Diggs. Besides being the piano on which the actress rehearsed her Broadway showstoppers and wrote some of her original songs, the Yamaha is also signed by Menzel herself. With the listing, Menzel says,

"My grandfather Nathan is an immense source of inspiration for me, and is also the reason why I have this piano. He tucked away money so I could one day have a piano, and right before he passed away, when I was five, he gave that to my mom to make sure she bought one. When I was about seven we finally got one, and it's been in my life ever since. I learned and practiced all my music from Rent and Wicked with my voice teacher on this piano, and wrote songs on it, like "Brave." Although he was in my life for such a short period of time, he's inspired me to be who I am (I even wrote my college essay about him!). I think of him when I think of this piano, which is why I've held on to it for so long. Donating my childhood piano to benefit A BroaderWay is my way of spreading that inspiration around. Through this auction, we can help inspire young people to find their own voices."

Click here to view the listing, priced at $1,500.

A BroaderWay Foundation was created in 2010 by Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs and is dedicated to offering girls from urban communities an outlet for self-expression and creativity through arts-centered programs. The emphasis is on building self-esteem, developing leadership qualities and striving for personal and social achievement.

Menzel's career has traversed stage, film, television, and music. She was most recently heard as Elsa in Disney's global box-office smash Frozen, in which she sings the film's Oscar-winning song "Let It Go." After Menzel's performance of the multi-platinum song at the 86th annual Academy Awards, she made history as the first person with both a Billboard Top 10 hit and a Tony Award for acting. Menzel currently stars as Elizabeth in the original Broadway production of If/Then.

Click here to read BroadwayWorld's recent interview with Idina Menzel.