Bloggers Unite for Haiti

By now we all know about the devastation of Haiti right?  Can you imagine being here and not knowing if your loved ones are okay.  I felt like that for a brief hour on Tues night.  My sister was vacationing in Jamaica and at that point no one really new the extent of the 7.3 magnitude earthquake.  I ended up calling all over the place and finally got to her room and got an email from her saying that everything there was normal and it was business as usual. What a relief…for me. 

That doesn’t help the 3 million people that are in Haiti right now and that desperately need our help.  If you can find it in your heart to donate even a little bit (yes, once again, every little bit helps) these are some of the legit organizations that are offering relief…

* Text YELE to 501501 to contribute $5 to Yele Haiti.

* Text HAITI to 90999 to contribute to the Red Cross.

* Call Red Cross 1-800-435-7669 to make your donation to the Red Cross.

* Paypal Donation through Hope for Haiti

* Donate to Doctors Without Borders.

* In Canada, donations can be made by text message to the Salvation Army’s Haiti Earthquake Disaster Relief relief fund. Donors can text the world “HAITI” to 45678 from any Rogers Wireless or Bell Mobility phone to contribute $5.00 to The Salvation Army.

I know how lean finances are for ALL of us right now... but even a small donation will help. If you can't donate money, donate some of your time and help spread the word to others on how they can help. Every little bit helps!

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Drop In & Decorate

Back in 2002 one of my good food blogger friends, Lydia started a wonderful program called Drop in & Decorate. It’s a simple concept: bake some cookies, invite friends or family (or co-workers or neighbors) to drop by and help decorate, and donate your cookies to a local food pantry, emergency shelter, senior center, lunch program, or other nonprofit agencies meeting the basic human needs of people in your own communities.

This year if you’d like to host your own Drop In & Decorate® event, Pillsbury and Wilton would like to help.

Pillsbury has donated 50 VIP coupons, worth $3.00 each, off any Pillsbury product -- including sugar cookie mix and icing -- to be distributed, first come, first served, while supply lasts, to anyone who plans to host a Drop In & Decorate event (max. 5 coupons per person). And she iwll also include a Comfort Grip cookie cutter, donated by Wilton, to people who plan to host cookies-for-donation events.

There’s also a free downloadable guide with everything you need to know to host your own party, available on the Drop In & Decorate web site.

It’s a simple idea in a complicated world, and something anyone can do!  If you’d like more information, you can visit the web site or contact Lydia directly at lydiaATdropinanddecorateDOTorg.

Check out Lydia’s site for more details .

Photos courtesy of Drop In & Decorate and Lydia Walshin

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Operation No Kid Hungry

I guess everyone knows that I have a bit of a soft spot for kids and not just my own. It actually pains me to think of any child going hungry, EVER. I have found an organization that is trying to eradicate Childhood Hunger. So when they contacted me yesterday and asked me to help get their message out I jumped at the chance. I have been fortunate enough to support them at other times but when I heard that AT&T was doing this in conjunction with them I couldn't wait to be involved!

By having food blogs we have so much power to help get information out and in the public eye so please repost this if you can...

Share Our Strength has launched a brand new campaign to raise funds to help end childhood hunger. "Operation No Kid Hungry" responds to President-elect Obama's call to action to end childhood hunger by 2015.

Share Our Strength has partnered with AT&T to offer two great ways that you can support and participate in "Operation No Kid Hungry":

1.Donate by text: Text "SHARE" to 20222 on your mobile device to donate $5. AT&T will match all text donations up to $100,000. Help us meet this challenge grant! Find out more at http://strength.org/get_involved/text_donation/

2.Hold a food drive: Beginning January 19th, a national day of community service, help feed those in need by holding your own community food drive.
Visit http://Strength.org to find a food bank and a list of the most needed nutritious foods.

For more information about "Operation No Kid Hungry" and how you can help end childhood hunger, visit Share Our Strength's website: http://strength.org.


There are also more ways you can help get the word out, including banners for your blog and social networking pages here: http://strength.org/get_involved/spread_the_word/

Let's do our part to help this very worth while cause!!!

As Always...

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

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