Okay, here’s the deal.
I have a couple of new recipes and that Poor Girl’s Shopping List post that I’ve been meaning to put up on the site for the past couple of days, but I haven’t been able to do anything blog related since I heard about the monstrous earthquake that devastated the people of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Tuesday. I start cooking and I stop to look at the latest coverage of the devastation; I start writing some witty remarks about my current financial hell and I start feeling guilty, images of the rubble, the ruin, the tortured faces of these poor people flashing before me. Yeah, I’m backed up on rent and I just had to make payment arrangements with the utility companies again, but I have a home. I have food and potable water. My God, I have my LIFE! As it stands now, the death toll estimates in this area of Haiti range from tens to hundreds of thousands of lives lost. The rest of them are struggling to live through the darkness, hunger, thirst, and the utter chaos of aftershocks that continue to ravish this island.
I have decided that I cannot, in good conscience, continue to post about my own battles when this type of devastation is afflicting so many. I doubt there’s anyone with a heart and soul that doesn’t feel compelled to help in some way. This is what I have decided to do in order to help, and it involves you joining in with me: from now until February 28th, 30% of the proceeds of Poor Girl Eats Well – To Go! purchases will go towards relief efforts in Haiti.
I know it’s not much, but as someone who has been the recipient of some unexpected help in the past week, I know that when it’s truly needed, ANY little bit can help. I have chosen Food for the Poor, Inc. as one charity these proceeds will support, as I feel it is both urgently needed aid and relevant to this blog. I am also working on how to donate to Catholic Relief Services, so I will let you all know how that pans out. There are several of you who have been writing in to get 1 or more copies of my mini-book, and I really appreciate the interest & support! The time has finally arrived for you all to get one, and now you can help a country who desperately needs it, too.
For those unfamiliar with the PGEW – To Go! mini-book, it features some reader favorite recipes and some of the most popular tips from the site, to help you on your way to eating ridiculously well on a minuscule budget. It’s a 46-page volume with all the full-color photos you’ve come to love, only with a bit less banter before the recipe. 🙂 There is always a 2-3 week turnaround time in regards to shipping, as I work on all of this on my own in addition to blogging and that full-time job I so desperately need, so please keep that in mind when you order. (The holiday orders were especially rough on me because I was a gimp and extremely sick, but that was an unusual situation.) Other than that, the ordering process is very simple: just look to your left and you’ll see the tiny 1-product store I’ve set up and followed the ordering process. If you have any questions, you can always email me at poorgirleatswell [at] Gmail [dot] com.
Of course, you could donate directly to any charity, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a little something along with the satisfaction of helping others? 🙂 Seriously though, I think this makes it easier on those who, like me, are strapped for cash but would still like to help in some way (many charitable organizations ask for minimum dollar amounts that not everyone can afford). And yes, for you skeptics, I will let you know when & how much is given as I give it to each respective charity.
I hope you will all join me in my effort to try to give back the way that so much has been given to me when I’ve needed it. Thanks for letting me get on my soapbox and thanks in advance for your orders. And stay tuned for a new recipe this weekend! You may even get more than one just for being such awesome, generous folks. 😉
Lv,
PG
