Saturday, December 26, 2009

if anyone's interested...

my life is a lot less interesting back in canada. ive been surprised to hear how many people admitted to following what i did while i was away. im typically surprised by how many people are actually interested in what i do.. not just humouring me by giving me money for a funny little african phase, inspired by celebrities everywhere (i'm not inspired by celebrities, i just sometimes feel like thats how it looks).

now that im home, i spend my days setting up a home office, shop, and indulging in all the sparkly and lazy features of canadian life.

there are perks though. charitable registration has new life behind it, courtesy of two lawyers who also take me and this project more seriously than i would without them. hopefully within a few months, that blessed registration number will be all mine. watch out tax receipts.

canadians are stepping up from all over to help me out...

my family has once again whipped out an incredible amount of patience for the holiday cookies. my mom baked more than i did, probably in part to dodge a flour-covered kitchen. my sister coped with allergic reactions to unmarked buttery cookies. my dad put up with being smacked away from cookies that he hadn't really paid for. my brother luckily stayed at school learning the wonders of the business world instead. they all put up with more criticism, sarcasm and africa guilt than before. (thanks family).

ive had two especially generous donations that should have been mentioned weeks ago. two family friends recently put together a cookbook for broil king bbqs (http://www.gatheringaroundthegrill.com) and donated a portion of their profit towards eat to feed liberians. my grandparents also stepped up with a significant surprise donation. their generosity to me in general has made this entire initiative possible and cannot go without considerable recognition... which i haven't done to this point. anyway. those two have taken care of a term of feeding and opened up a lot of doors for this project so, thank you.

this doesn't downplay the other donors that have come by with days and weeks of feeding for us. again, this surge of money without the insanity that comes with a lot of cookies has opened up so many doors. updates to come with that.

students are helping with corporate sponsorship packages so that we're ready for when that charity number comes our way. securing months (years?!) in advance means i devote less of my daily life to this project, and frees me to learn from other projects, experiences etc. i'm actively looking for businesses interested in feeding programs or just making themselves look good. ideas, connections, or whatever you've got would be great at this preliminary point.

for now. its back to boxing day recovery. this is one of my favourite days of the year.

oh and.. theres a shop in my house now. reusable grocery bags and wine bottle bags are all over the place and waiting to be bought. email me at bags@eattofeedliberians.com if you want to check them out. tell your friends too.

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