Category Archives: charity

Where Have I Been?

Now the The Month From Hell is over, I can finally come up for air.

The last few weeks have featured a whole lot of early mornings, late nights, and working weekends. I’m looking forward to having a little more normalcy in our lives now.

Saturday sucked – I was at work from 8:30 until 4:45 PM putting the finishing touches on the final report for the project at work. Nothing like having your boss, his boss, and HIS boss keeping an eye on your work as you’re writing the report. I got a nice round of kudos once it was done, though, so that was nice.

Yesterday was a real hoot. takaza, rustitobuck, and linnaeus took part in the Fox Lake Polar Plunge, a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. I posted a sample of the pictures I took on Facebook, and you can see the full album here. Thanks to roho, genet, rolliebear, and RJ for showing up and providing moral support. After the event we went home and the swimmers showered, then we got some lunch. Roho and Genet had to take off, but the rest of the folks hung out at our place for the afternoon, chatting. It was a lovely way to spend the day! After folks left we watched The Amazing Race. I have to say that I’m really liking the cowboys – they’re smart, they play the game well, and they’ve got a great sense of humor. As for who will be gone next, my money is on either the detectives or the brothers.

So it’s a new month, and I’m looking forward to working on some new personal projects. I have some MFF work to take care of this week, and we need to get the builders into our house to take care of some warranty work. We’re working on possibly adopting a pair of adorable dogs, but the shelter is being amazingly picky about things and we may get turned down, though I’m still not sure why. I’ll be calling them today and figuring out what’s going on. Also, we’ve got some planning to do on our fall trip and Memorial Day festivities as well. Oh yeah, and there’s this Anthrocon thing I need to start planning for…

Get ready for The Midwest Furfest 2009 Charity Auction!

(Copied from )

It’s now less than a month til Midwest FurFest! Time to start packing and planning! Of course, as you pack, you’ll want to leave some extra space for all the loot you’ll pick up at the Den, the Alley, and the Art Show. Rather than leaving that corner of your suitcase empty, why not turn it to a good cause – like cute fuzzy animals in need of rescue?

This year, Midwest Furfest’s Charity Auction goes to benefit Kane Area Rehabilitation and Education for Wildlife (KARE for Wildlife). KARE has been helping Illinois wildlife since 1995. Every day, they work to rescue injured and orphaned members of Illinois’s native species, such as foxes, coyotes and raccoons, as well as raptors. In addition, they are involved in local education and outreach, along with some of their non-releasable charges.

So how can your extra luggage space help KARE and the animals? Auction donations! That signed original fox piece that your boyfriend won’t let you hang on the wall? The gorgeous handmade blanket that you never use since moving to Arizona? The skunk tail you don’t feel right wearing since discovering your tiger side? All of these would find a great new home at Saturday’s charity auction!

Don’t have anything to donate? Come to the auction itself, and see if you can find something to pick up instead! Every year, the auction brings in unexpected, creative, incredible donations for our talented auctioneers to send home to new owners. Not sure if you’ll be interested? Come for the show anyways – the banter is half the fun, and KARE will be there with some of their critters to cheer folks on. And don’t forget to drop by the charity’s table to meet Vicki, her volunteers, and the animals.

For details including donation instructions, rules, and more info on KARE, check the latest on the website Charity Page

See you all in November!

China Earthquake Reporting

Last night on my way home from work I was listening to National Public Radio’s All Things Considered. Their hosts Robert Siegel and Melissa Block were originally in China to do a series of reports on Chinese culture and state of the country leading up to the Summer Olympics – then the earthquake happened.

Last night’s story by Melissa Block was, without a doubt, some of the most amazing and heart-wrenching journalism I have ever heard on NPR. It put a human face on the tragedy, as we followed the efforts of a husband and wife in the city Dujiangyan as they attempted to find someone to help dig out their parents and their two-year-old son. I would urge you to listen to the story – it’s difficult listening, but it is very worthwhile.

Here’s two ways to help:
American Red Cross – China Response
Americares

Menu for Hope – What a Great Deal!

If you like food and want to help raise money for an excellent charity (The UN World Food Programme) I highly recommend clicking over to Menu for Hope 4 which just started today over at Chef Pim. For $10 per virtual raffle ticket, you can buy chances for a stellar array of prizes, including some one of a kind dining experiences all over the world (many nifty things in the UK!), cookbook packages, specialty food products, homemade food, kitchen equipment, and more! (I’m being a big ol’ fanboy at the prospect of lunch with Harold McGee!). It’s a worthy cause and great prizes. Check it out!

Down in the Delta

Something that some folks may not know about me: after high school (so long ago, in 1986), I didn’t want to just move on to Clemson University. At that time, it just seemed that all of the people I knew from my high school in Anderson, SC (15 miles south of Clemson) were going there, so I was afraid it would just be high school writ large. No, I wanted broader horizons. I received a nice package of grants and loans from Tulane University in New Orleans, and that is where I went for my first year and a half of college. I have a lot of fond memories from there:
– The horrid freshman dorm. Fourth floor, Sharp Hall.
– Marginal improvement the next year, second floor, Butler Hall
– Sunday morning brunch in Bruff Commons (not good food, but pleasant at the time)
– Broadcasting the Global Folk Show on Sunday mornings on WTUL-FM
– Video production with TUVAC, producing a weekly issues discussion show for public access TV
– The massive toy-gun shootout that ranged the length and breadth of McAlister Auditorium
– Seeing Andreas Vollenweider, Bruce Hornsby, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Hunter S. Thompson (the latter completely drunk out of his mind) at McAlister Auditorium
– Plum Street Snowball stand. That wasn’t a sno-cone, that was heaven.
– Audubon Park Zoo, right across St. Charles from Tulane
– Mardi Gras. Good gods, Mardi Gras.
– All the great music at the clubs: Beausoleil, File’ Cajun Band, The Godfathers…
– Fridays afternoons on the Quad. The Song Dogs, Harry Connick, Jr., Winter Hours, The Radiators…
– Working as a dispatcher/student marshal for Tulane Police. I saw every inch of that campus, and then some, and met some great people.
– Cafe du Monde, Dixie Beer, barbecued crawfish (suck the head and pinch the tail, y’all!), muffalettas, and po’boys

And now? Most, if not all of that is under water. Officially, Tulane University has said they won’t start classes until September 21, but I saw one blog that had a tip from a Tulane employee speculating that it may be next year before they can start classes again.

They’ll rebuild. There is no doubt in my mind. It won’t be the same, but that’s OK. Everything changes, and I’m sure very little was still the same from the last time I set foot in the city seventeen years ago. But I do believe they will come back, in time.

That’s in the future. For the present, there are millions of people that need help. They need your help. Stop what you’re doing and think: what if you had to leave, right now? What would you take? What would you leave behind? Where would you go? What if what you thought you could come back to was gone, obliterated?

Think about that. Then click on one of these links. Even if it’s just a few dollars, every little bit will help. The American Red Cross donation page (site is very slow). Americares donation page (small but very effective charity). Humane Society of the United States donation page (mounting a rescue effort for pets and caregivers). Or select some other charity that you prefer, but seriously: do something.