For the past two years, members of the food and wine blogging community have raised money for various charities through a tremendous project called A Menu for HopeThe original event was conceived shortly after the Asian tsunami a couple years by Pim (of the Chez Pim blog) to raise aid money for the victims. That initial project was a great success and last year, the culinary blogging community raised an amazing $17,000 for UNICEF by doing an online raffle of various culinary/food/wine items.
It's time for A Menu for Hope III and this year's beneficiary is the United Nations' World Food Program.
HOW IT WORKS:The campaign is essentially a big raffle for prizes. You look through the prizes, figure out which one(s) you want to try to win, and then you buy "virtual raffle tickets" -- one for each $10 of donation you make to our cause on the special web site set up for that purpose.
When you make your donation, you simply specify the prize number(s) (each prize should have one) and the "number of tickets" your donation is buying. Donate thirty bucks, get three tickets, and use them for one prize, or for three. Just be specific in your request.
Here's the site to enter / donate.
THE PRIZES:So first of all, remember that these are just the wine blog prizes. There are TONS OF OTHER PRIZES awaiting you over on Chez Pim’s site. Go check them out too. But not before taking a look at these incredibly generous and creative donations from wine bloggers far and wide:
All of the wine donations are listed on the Vinography site
WB09 - Italian Wine Guy is Your Sommelier for a Night. Courtesy of Italian Wine Guy
I will be offering to be the sommelier at someone's private dinner party for up to six people in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas Area for an evening (or farther if someone wants to pay transportation costs). They will choose the menu to cook for their friends (or the restaurant to eat at) and I will bring the wine, including some from my cellar to match the cuisine and tell people about them. Approximate value: $200
The more you give, the better your chance to win. The campaign is scheduled to run from now until Friday 22nd, 6PM PST. So get a move on!
All of the wine donations are listed on the Vinography site
Roll your mouse over the thumbnail photos to see prize code and description. Click on a photo for more details
This year's deserving charity is the UN World Food Programme -- a fitting recipient of the goodwill from food and wine bloggers and their readers. I hope you will consider donating something. The smallest amount is a mere $10, which if you're sitting in front of a computer that you own, you most certainly can afford.
Here's the site to enter / donate.More Details and complete instructions on following page...
If you're interested in participating, here's what you need to do:
1. Go to the donation page at First Giving.
2. Make a donation, each $10 will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize or prizes you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. The prize code for my Italian Wine Guy Sommelier for a Night is WB09. Do tell us how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code -for example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for WB02 and 3 for WB09.
3. If your company matches your charity donation, please remember to check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
4. Please also check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone.
5. Check back on Chez Pim on January 15 when we announce the result of the raffle. (The drawing will be done electronically. Derrick at Obsession with Food is responsible for the application that will do the job.)
Thanks for your participation, and good luck in the raffle!