Menu for Hope 6
Long before I became a food blogger, I was an avid food blog reader, and for the past few years I’ve sat back and watched in awe and admiration as the Menu for Hope campaign brought food blogs together to raise money for charity. Created by Pim Techamuanvivit of Chez Pim five years ago as a way to help the victims of the tsunami in Southeast Asia, Menu for Hope has become an annual affair which today benefits the United Nations World Food Programme, which helps to feed hungry folks the world over, assisting them to become self reliant.
I am proud to be able to say that, this year, The Best Food Blog Ever is going to be a part of Menu for Hope for the first time.
Today, December 14, sees the launch of the 6th edition of Menu for Hope. Over the past three years, Menu for Hope has raised almost a quarter of a million dollars for the UN World Food Programme. But here’s the kicker – the majority of that money came from donations between $10 and $50.
Here’s how it works: the fundraising is performed by raffle for several glorious bid items. Every tax-deductible contribution of US$10 buys you one ticket to win one of the items contributed by myself and other participating food bloggers – each bid item on each blog has a code that you specify as part of your contribution, and you can buy more than one ticket for the same bid item to increase your chances.
The campaign ends on Christmas, and the results of the raffle will be announced on Chez Pim on Monday, January 18, 2010. I’ll arrange to have my bid items sent to the winners, and the funds raised will go to the United Nations World Food Programme. All of the donations are processed by FirstGiving, an online fundraising company that has handled all of the monies for Menu for Hope since the campaign’s inception.
Here’s the fun part – the items! Please note the shipping restrictions on each bid item when placing your donation. The Best Food Blog Ever is offering the following three bid items this year:
UE20 is a Set of Six Cookbooks that belong on everyone’s ‘active cookbook’ shelf. It includes copies of The Joy of Cooking, Boy Gets Grill, On Food and Cooking, Bakewise, Elements of Cooking, and Ratio. With a retail value of nearly $200, this set could be yours for the $10 cost of a single raffle ticket. Be sure to include the reference to the bid item code UE20 with your donation. These books were a generous donation by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Please note that shipping for this item is restricted to the United States.
UE21 is an Stainless Kitchen Tool Set by All-Clad. Check it out, you get a slotted spoon, solid spoon, fork, ladle, and turner, all in a nice matching caddy. Worth $120 at retail, this will be the absolute last set of tools you’ll ever need, and owning them will make you hate cooking in other peoples’ kitchens. To get a shot at this item, include the bid item code UE21 with your donation. Much thanks to our friends at All-Clad for donating this prize! Please note that shipping for this item is restricted to the United States.
Here’s the biggie. Bid item UE22 is a bundle package of the Nespresso Le Cube Espresso Machine coupled with the Aeroccino Plus Frother. I actually own a Nespresso machine, and it makes espresso on par with the best cafes in Europe – it’s that good. But you know what makes the espresso from my Nespresso even better? Steamed milk and a dollop of froth straight from my Aeroccino Plus. It’s an incredible frother that has both hot and cold options, and two little propellers for froth/no-froth. With a retail value of $349, this prize is worth multiple donation entries because, trust me, you want this bundle on your kitchen counter. Be sure to reference bid item code UE22 with your donation. The Le Cube and Aeroccino Plus were donated by our friends at Nespresso. Please note that shipping for this item is restricted to the United States and Canada.
If you have any questions about Menu for Hope, check out Chez Pim and read her main Menu for Hope post, where you can also find a master list of prizes across all food blogs. Thank you in advance for your generous participation!
Instructions for Donating:
1. Choose a bid item or several items from the master list.
2. Go to the donation site and make a donation.
3. Each $10 contribution gets you one raffle ticket toward a bid item of your choice. You must specify which bid item you’d like in the ‘Personal Message’ section in the donation form when confirming your donation. If purchasing multiple raffle entries, you must write-in how many tickets per item, referencing the bid item codes. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for UE22 (espresso machine), 1 ticket for UE21 (kitchen tools), and 2 tickets for UE20 (cookbooks). If you were doing this, you would write 2xUE22, 1xUE21, 2xUE20. On the other hand, if you wanted to get 5 chances at the Nespresso bundle, you’d write 5xUE22.
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we can claim the corporate match.
5. Please check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.
Happy Giving and Good Luck!
