"April Food Day . . . "

I've only been a part of the blogging community for just over 6 months and am still amazed at the the fantastic people that I've met. Usually, I'm just here to share pictures of interiors that delight and inspire me. And vent about the struggles of the design business, lol. Today's gonna be a bit different. Today, let's put our blogging network . . . to work.

Today, I would like to join with Elegant & Easy Life and Pigtown*Design to do what I can to wipe out the crisis with food banks here in the US. As we all know, these are tough times for a great many people in our nation.

"People who never had a worry in the world now have to think about where their next meal is coming from. People who never would have dreamt that they would need help are now showing up at local food banks. But when they get there, the shelves are bare. There is not enough food being donated to meet the sudden rise in demand. There is not enough money to buy food for the food banks. There is not a general understanding that food banks need help to help fill their shelves."

Please help me in supporting the "April Food Day-Bloggers Fighting Hunger" program by contributing to "Feed America" at the link provided.

"A gift of $25 provides 75 meals. We can make a huge difference in our communities."

I've been spending several nights over the course of the Lenten season donating my time working for a local food bank here in the bay area sorting and organizing the food which has been donated. And I can report that donations are decreasing.

What can you do? Contribute, if you are able. Even $1 can begin to make a difference.  or make "April Food Day" your blog post for today or tomorrow. or simply provide a link to "April Food Day" on your own blog.  Together we can make a huge impact.  

To contribute, click here.

For more information, click here.

"Two Hands . . . "

Good evening,

I had the pleasure (and delight) of attending the "Thank You" party for the 2008 Dining by Design event in San Francisco. It was great to see so many of my fellow designers and friends (just keep reading, this'll make sense in a second). One of the most inspirational speeches of the evening was from a doctor working with the Positive Health Program (whose work the charity helps to fund.) She spoke of the important work that our fund raiser supports and the great need of that support as Federal and State funds begins to dwindle even further.

For those who wanted to do more, she offered the group a recommendation. "volunteer." In these "troubled economic times (how many times a day do you hear that phrase? ugh.)," volunteering can save charities valuable funds, but costs the individual volunteer nothing.

There seems to be a flurry of discussion about what we might each 'give up' for the season of Lent. The next 40 days are a traditional time of reflection and sacrifice to prepare for the celebration of Easter. I've decided to give up some of my spare time. There's a great volunteer program called "One Brick." They help to pair volunteers and organizations and have offices in several cities across the US.

Can't wait to see where my two hands end up.
tartanscot

for more information on Dining by Design.
for more information on the Positive Health Program.
for more information on the One Brick Program.