NEW YORK (AP) _ By the time Alicia Keys was 17, she was already an accomplished pianist and singer with a recording contract.

But even with all of her talents, Keys says she could have benefited from some mentoring _ “to have a place that you can go to, for people to reach out to you and say, `Here’s how I did it, or here’s what I think.”’ With that in mind, Keys is lending her support to the Florida-based mentoring group Frum Tha Ground Up, which helps children ages 13 to 18 become self-motivated and reach their potential. Keys, 24, is providing some of the items for an online auction to benefit the group, including VIP passes to her performance at the upcoming Essence Music Festival in New Orleans and a chance to be her guest while she tapes her “Unplugged” album next month. Bidding ends June 30. Frum Tha Ground Up is critical, Keys said, because it helps children when they are most in need of direction. “There’s a time we all go through at a certain age where you feel like there is no one you can turn to. Sometimes that’s really the case. You don’t have a father figure, you don’t have a mother figure, you don’t really have any motivational people in your life,” she told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Other items up for bid at the online auction, featured on www.charityfolks.com, include lunch with Halle Berry on the set of “X-Men 3” and a private tennis lesson with Andre Agassi. Keys said she’s tempted to bid on an item herself _ tickets to the premiere of a movie starring Morgan Freeman. “I love Morgan Freeman,” she gushed. “This might be my chance!” ___ On the Net: http://www.ftgu.org/