Bloggers without Borders: A Beginning

UPDATE: I now have a BwoB fundraiser of my own! Head over to Simple Bites for a chance to win some gorgeous items from Le Creuset and help a good cause.

After months of dreaming, weeks of planning, days of coordinating, and hours upon hours of work, the vision of a non-profit organization for bloggers, by bloggers has become a reality for Bloggers without Borders founders, Maggy Keet and Erika Pineda-Ghanny.


You have to see it for yourself; go visit the beautiful new website, read about how the non-profit was started, and find out how you can help.

It is an honour to be working with Maggy and Erika in their endeavors to harness the good will of the blogging community for charity. You'll see the words 'Social Media Manager' next to my photo on the About Us page, which I think means -- I like to talk? Or something.

It also means I'm the voice behind our Twitter and Facebook accounts, so please, go give us some love and spread the word!

Now, our kick-off project is near and dear to my heart. You remember my post on A Pie for Mikey? Well, spearheaded by Shauna and supported by Bloggers without Borders, A Fund for Jennie has been launched.

Please take a moment to read about the project, and then either donate by clicking the button below, or from the options on the BwoB website.



Thank you! Don't forget to subscribe to the BwoB blog feed for regular updates!

Roasted Shiitake Parmesan Pops

OK, I have to admit, I lured you in with that title. While this addicting new appetizer recipe has indeed been developed, tested, and photographed by yours truly, I will not be posting the recipe. Call me a tease, but you'll have to buy Peko Peko to get it.

Wait, Peko-what?

Peko Peko: Family Friendly Japanese Recipes is a collection of nearly 60 Japanese and Japanese-inspired recipes published by Blurb, 100% of the profits of which will be donated to charity relief in Japan. I was fortunate to be one of the food bloggers who contributed a recipe to the cookbook.

Peko Peko: Family Friendly Japanese Recipes offers 120 full-color pages packed with gorgeous photography and 59 Japanese-inspired recipes contributed by 56 food writers, bloggers and photographers.

Peko Peko also includes an indispensable guide to over 50 Japanese ingredients, including suitable substitutions for the North American home cook. If you've never cooked Japanese food, don't worry, the detailed pantry section in the book that will give you the information you need to use those new ingredients with confidence.

It's been a amazing honour to be a small part of this project, spearheaded by three talented curators.

You can read more about Peko Peko (and see some photos from the book) over on Simple Bites and yesterday the Montreal Gazette was also kind enough to give it a mention in the Applause section. The word is spreading!

Of course, you can also go directly to Blurb to purchase the book, where all of the proceeds will go to the GlobalGiving Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. Nobody involved in making the book will profit from Peko Peko, including Blurb. As a Peko Peko sponsor, the good folks at Blurb have agreed to waive their usual cut of book sales.

Thanks in advance for supporting our cause and happy cooking!

BwoB: An Update

Bloggers without Borders (BwoB) is a blogger-based charity whose mission is to help people—bloggers and readers alike—by harnessing the good will of the blogging community. Its founders are Maggy Keet of ThreeManyCooks, Erika Pineda-Ghanny of The Ivory Hut, Julie Van Rosendaal of Dinner with Julie, and Aimee Wimbush-Bourque of Simple Bites. BwoB officially launches in July 2011.

UPDATE!
Thanks to everyone who gave so generously, we've been able to donate over a thousand dollars each to both Kristan and Sheila and their causes.

You can read their updates here:
Kristan in Arkanasas.
Sheila for Joplin, MO.

* * *

It's been about 36 hours since we launched Bloggers without Borders and our fundraising efforts for tornado victims, so we thought it was time for a progress report. As of midnight, we had raised over $1,200 for tornado victims across the United States. We can't thank you enough for your quick and generous response.

After launching our Joplin campaign, another blogger with another need came to our attention. Kristan of Confessions of a Cookbook Queen lives 5 minutes from where another tornado hit in Arkansas. Fortunately, lives were spared, but her uncle---a father of four who doesn't have much insurance---lost the family business when his flooring store was flattened. Family homes were also severely damaged and the overall loss is heartbreaking.



Kristan's uncle's family store.

When she learned of Kristan's situation, Shelia, our Joplin recipient, generously offered to share half of the fundraising proceeds with Kristan's community. "There is so much need that we definitely need to spread the love," she said. Kristan will distribute her share of the funds to the most urgent of situations in the Etna/Denning, AR community. She will also give us an update on her blog and share how the money was allotted. Truly, this is bloggers helping bloggers.

As we watch the news and the updates that are coming from these tornado-stricken areas, we feel such deep sadness for these people who have lost everything. Many of you expressed the same sentiment but we no longer feel helpless or hopeless, because together as bloggers, we are actually doing something to help in a real and meaningful way.

Our goal is to raise at least $2,000 so that we can give each blogger and her community $1,000. Please help us reach that goal!

And for those who already have donated, thank you for your support. Your tweets and blog posts touch us, and they encourage us to forge ahead. There is much need, yes, but together we're making a difference.


With gratitude,

Bloggers without Borders

Want to spread the word? Want to help us raise money? E-mail us and we'll send you the code for the BwoB badge and donate button.

BwoB: Help for Joplin, MO

Bloggers without Borders (BwoB) is a blogger-based charity whose mission is to help people—bloggers and readers alike—by harnessing the good will of the blogging community. Its founders are Maggy Keet of ThreeManyCooks, Erika Pineda-Ghanny of The Ivory Hut, and Aimee Wimbush-Bourque of Simple Bites. BwoB officially launches in July 2011.

____________________

Everyone around the country is deeply saddened by the tragedy that has taken place in Joplin, MO. And sadly, the tragedy has closely touched the life of our blogging friend, Sheila from Strawberry Cake. Her great aunt was killed when the nursing home she was living in was hit by the huge tornado that devastated the area. Other members of Sheila's family were hospitalized with injuries and have damaged homes.

Photo Credit: Tom Uhlenbrock, Missouri Department of Natural Resources

We know there are many bloggers out there who would like to help the people of Joplin—but, of course, we are not there. We don't know what the needs are. So we are raising money for Sheila's family and the people of Joplin. Rather than give it to a large aid organization, we're going to give it to Sheila so that she can distribute it to the people, organizations or local efforts that need help.

Once the money is collected and has been dispersed, Sheila will share with us what she did with the money—who it helped and how it helped—so that we can share that with you. You'll know right where your money went.

So please give $1, $5 or as much as your financial situation allows. This money will go to people directly affected by the disaster—given to the people who need it by someone from our own community.



Thank you for your support,

Maggy, Erika and Aimee
Bloggers without Borders
@bloggerswob

Want to spread the word? Want to help us raise money? E-mail us and we'll send you the code for the BwoB badge and donate button.