giving feels good at new belgium brewing's clips of faith tour

As most of you know, I’ve been in a less-than-stellar mood since my father passed away unexpectedly on Father’s Day. Even though everyone in my world has been so wonderful with sweet words and kind wishes, I’ve been a bit hermit-like this summer as I try to work through the sadness and grief. I’ve been perfectly okay soaking up Seattle summer from the emotional safety and comfort of our Zen bungalow and hanging out with a few select friends, but for the most part, I’ve spent a lot of time alone thinking. I keep testing the waters to see how I fare in real life social situations (as in, do I fall apart?) and the results have varied from complete meltdowns to respites of feeling okay. Not great, but good enough to think clearly and carry an intelligent conversation.

Right now, I’m not trying to force myself to do anything, other than to be present with my feelings on a day-to-day basis. I’m okay with skipping summertime BBQs and birthday parties, but I have missed volunteering. Giving back is something that always makes me feel good, so I decided to volunteer last night at New Belgium Brewing’s Clips of Faith Beer & Film Tour at Gasworks Park in Seattle. The 18-city tour benefits a different local nonprofit in each destination, and Seattle’s tour benefit Nature Consortium.  A short walk from my house, I figured how bad could it be to spend a summer night outside, in eyeshot of the most amazing view of Seattle’s skyline, slinging beer, in the company of friends? It did not suck.

Shannon Edris and Ryan Witcher joined me for the hopped-up volunteer festivities and we deftly poured draft after draft of 15 of New Belgium Brewing’s finest brews for hours. Amongst the chaos of having to constantly replenish 3oz. “samplers” and 12oz. beers, there was something oddly meditative about the experience. Pouring beer was such a simple task, yet the repetition completely distracted my mind, and after five hours, I realized that not a single sad thought had creeped into my mind. It was a small victory in my process of healing, but a glimpse of hope that everything will be okay, and that eventually, I’ll be okay.

Sampling new (to me) brews like La Folie Sour Brown Ale, Le Terroir, and Somersault Ale may have had something to do with my good mood, but I believe that volunteering and the simple act of doing something is to thank, because giving feels good.

8 Days of Giving to Japan: Day 8 - Habitat for Humanity Japan (#Habitat_Org)

Habitat For Humanity Japan is still assessing the situation but will be involved in the reconstruction of housing once the emergency period ends. This is one of the most vital aspects of recovery and the homeless will need a lot of help to put their lives back together.

Learn more about Habitat for Humanity Japan here or donate here.

 

For all social media outreach, please include the hashtags:

• #blog4japan
• #8daysjapan
• #Habitat_Org

Extra Credit: If you are unable to donate, please share this page with your friends, family and coworkers through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or any other outlet you can think of. The more people who see this page the greater the donations will be.

 

If you are blogger or have your own website, please see the Blog4Japan page to learn how you can utilize this appeal on your own site and help us reach even more people.

 

8 Days of Giving to Japan: Day 7 - Save The Children (#savethechildren)

Save the Children has been working in Japan for over 25 years. Their American partner is now collecting donations for them in English, which eliminates any credit card exchange charges. They have set up multiple child-friendly spaces in evacuation centers in Sendai City where displaced families are staying. They are also starting their long-term recovery plans to restore education and child care in communities ravaged by the disasters.

Learn more about Save the Children here or donate here.

For all social media outreach TODAY, please include the hashtags:

• #blog4japan
• #8daysjapan
• #savethechildren

Extra Credit: If you are unable to donate, please share this page with your friends, family and coworkers through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or any other outlet you can think of. The more people who see this page the greater the donations will be.

If you are blogger or have your own website, please see the Blog4Japan page to learn how you can utilize this appeal on your own site and help us reach even more people.

8 Days of Giving to Japan: Day 6 - The Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA)

The Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (AMDA Japan) team is delivering essential medical services through mobile clinics and delivering relief goods to the nursing homes and schools (evacuation shelters) in Aoba and Miyagino Wards.

Learn more about AMDA here or donate here.

For all social media outreach TODAY, please include the hashtags:

• #blog4japan
• #8daysjapan

Extra Credit: If you are unable to donate, please share this page with your friends, family and coworkers through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or any other outlet you can think of. The more people who see this page the greater the donations will be.

If you are blogger or have your own website, please see the Blog4Japan page to learn how you can utilize this appeal on your own site and help us reach even more people.

8 Days of Giving to Japan: Day 5 - Oxfam Japan (#oxfamjapan)

OXFAM Japan is working with two partners in Japan on providing support to those on the margins of society who might otherwise have difficulty accessing emergency relief. One group is assisting mothers and babies and the other is providing information to non-Japanese speakers living in Japan.
Learn more about OXFAM Japan here or donate here.

For all social media outreach TODAY, please include the hashtags:

• #blog4japan
• #8daysjapan
• #oxfamjapan

Extra Credit: If you are unable to donate, please share this page with your friends, family and coworkers through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or any other outlet you can think of. The more people who see this page the greater the donations will be.
If you are blogger or have your own website, please see the Blog4Japan page to learn how you can utilize this appeal on your own site and help us reach even more people.

8 Days of Giving to Japan: Day 2 - JEN (#NGO_JEN_e)

JEN is a well known NGO dedicated to restoring a self-supporting livelihood both economically and mentally to those who have been stricken with hardship due to conflicts and disasters. They are currently supporting emergency relief items such as food, woman’s hygenic items, clothes and other essentials to the survivors of the Japan Tsunami.

Learn more about JEN here or donate here.

For all social media outreach TODAY, please include the hashtags:

• #blog4japan
• #8daysjapan
• #NGO_JEN_e

Extra Credit: If you are unable to donate, please share this page with your friends, family and coworkers through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or any other outlet you can think of. The more people who see this page the greater the donations will be.

If you are blogger or have your own website, please see the Blog4Japan page to learn how you can utilize this appeal on your own site and help us reach even more people.

passports with purpose. donate now and help build a village in india.

I am knee deep in the spirit of giving back, so when Passports with Purpose’s annual Travel Bloggers’ fundraiser rolled around, I was pretty stoked to participate.

Passports with Purpose was founded in 2008 by the Puget Sound kitten squad of Debbie Dubrow, Pam Mandel, Beth Whitman and Michelle Duffy as a way to build community among travel bloggers and to give back to the places we, as travelers, visit. Last year, 90 bloggers participated and raised almost $30,000 to build a school in rural Cambodia (complete with a school nurse and a kitchen garden that provides each child a daily meal).

This year, the social media savvy gals-on-the-go have raised the bar and are hoping to raise $50,000 to build a village, brick by brick, in rural India through our partnership with Friends of Lafti.

Here’s how PWP works: You, dear, kind, generous donor, make a tax deductible donation directly to the charitable organization (LAFTI International in 2010). For each $10 you donate, you are entered to win a prize of your choice.

The Global Citizen Project has donated a Bachmann Trains' Golden Spike Train Set (MSRP value $180). This 163-piece train set commemorates the historic event when the world's first transcontinental railroad was completed with the driving of the final Golden Spike. This set features Bachmann's exclusive E-Z Track snap-fit track and roadbed system plus a diesel locomotive with an operating headlight, open quad hopper, plug-door box car, single dome tank car, stock car, off-center caboose, 63" x 38" oval of snap-fit EZ track including 12 pieces of curved track, 6 pieces of straight track, 1 plug-in terminal rerailer, 1 manual turnout-left, undertrack magnet with brakeman figure, 1 Hayes bumper, suburban station, signal bridge, 48 figures, 36 telephone poles, 48 railroad and street signs, power pack and speed control and an illustrated instruction manual.

Donations for PWP prizes close December 13th (Note: PWP will still take donations, but you won’t be entered into a drawing after December 13th). On December 17th, PWP will notify prize winners and host bloggers.

It truly is an honor to be part of this fundraising event and to feel like, in some small way as a travel blogger, I’m able to help make a big picture impact so much greater than myself. So thank you, PWP.

media mention: matador network (again)

Thanks are in order for Julie Schwietert at Matador Network for her continued support of The Global Citizen Project and for mentioning it's fundriasing success in today's "How To Fund Your Start Up Org" post on Matador Change.

wine for haiti - silent auction items

Here's a quick refresher on this Saturday's Wine for Haiti event in Seattle. Complete details can be found here or you can follow the festivities on Twitter at #NWforHaiti.

• Swing by the Vineyard Table on Saturday afternoon between 1-4 p.m. Please note: Vineyard Table can only accommodate 50 people at a time and this is a KID-FRIENDLY event.
• Make a $25 suggested donation, then plan on trying some exciting wines. We will be opening many fun bottles to try at the event and will also have some tasty snacks to nosh on - all while raising funds for three fantastic organizations focused on Haiti.
 • The first 50 people through the door will take home a bottle of wine from event organizer, Garren Katz' cellar with a value of at least $25. That is right, you will be taking a bottle of wine home with you. It’s a great deal.
• If you get that feeling – that extra credit generous feeling – bid on one of more than two dozen silent auction items listed below.

Donations

• 90-minute massage or craniosacral session with Kathy Jakielski, LMP ($95 value)
• Three 40-minute dog walks with Dawgs N Me owner, Alan Walk ($75 value)
• Four wine tasting event tickets at Portalis wine shop + wine bar ($75 value)
• Chef and Father DVD series w/bonus CD by creator, Greg Johnson ($60 value)
• Original wall art from Mount Salvation creator, Conor Mitchell ($75 value)
• Four one-hour Italian lessons via Skype, web chat or phone with instructor Karen Carver-Chambers ($200 value)
• In-home cooking class for two families from Chef and Father creator, Greg Johnson, plus DVD ($300 value)
• In-home three-course dinner for six prepared by chef Tom Black with paired wines from Trey Bush’s Sleight of Hand Winery in Walla Walla ($900 value)
• One-hour massage from therapist, Laura Sanderson ($80 value)
• Overnight stay at vineyard house at the Inn at Red Hills ($300 value)
• Two hour family/couple portrait session with Seattle photographer Kenna Klosterman ($200 value)
• Haircut at Coupe Rokei salon in Seattle with stylist Sara Preece ($75 value)
• 1 lb. of coffee beans from Lighthouse Roasters in Fremont ($15 value)
• Six pack of awesome Chutneys, Relishes and Plum butter homemade by Garren Katz (YUMMY value)
• Six hour architectural design consultation with ROHLEDER BORGES ARCHITECTURE architect Daniel Gero ($500 value)

Supporters

• Alexanderia Nicole -  three bottle lot ~signed~ ($110 value)
• De Lancellotti - two bottle lot ~signed~ Pinot Noir ($120 value)
• Patricia Green - 3 liter bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir ~signed~ ($185 value)
• Patricia Green - four year vertical of Eason Vineyards Oregon Pinot Noir ($100 value)
• Thirsty Pagans -  “Communion” Horse Heaven Hills four bottle lot ~signed~ ($100 value)
• Waters Winery - (magnum) ($100 value)
• Waters Winery -   three bottle lot ($100 value)
• Queen Anne Winery - (2) two bottle lots ~signed~ ($70 value)
• Buty Winery - two bottle lot “buty & the BEAST” donated by Keith and Julie Salas ($90 value)
• WineGirl Wines - two bottle lot “kamari black label” ($65 value)
• WineGirl Wines - two bottle lot “Rat City Rollergirl” series ~signed~ ($50 value)
• Falling Rain Cellers (TBD)
• Elsom Cellars (TBD)

Big thanks to everyone who has donated and/or pledged support for this fantastic fundraiser. We raise a toast to you!

media mention: winegirlblogs

Thanks to WineGirlBlogs for featuring Saturday's Wine for Haiti event in Seattle on the blog today.

As you may know, Garren Katz has work tirelessly this week to pull together this ad hoc, wine-centric fundraiser for three worthy organizations that will help Haitian relief efforts:

• Wyclef Jean’s (a native Haitian) YELE foundation
• Doctors Without Borders
• The Global Citizen Project

Stay tuned this afternoon for a complete list of silent auction items.

wine for haiti - this saturday

Hello and a head's up for my Seattleite friends: I am working with my wonderful new(ish) friend, Garren Katz, to raise funds via Wine for Haiti this Saturday for Haitian relief efforts. I have posted this on his behalf, but please know that I am fully involved, supportive and honored to be one of the recipients of funds raised for this worthy cause. Thank you, Garren for taking the initiative to organize this ambitious event -- especially on such short notice. I know it will be a smashing success!

Here's what Garren has to say about Wine for Haiti:

The earthquake in Haiti has been a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. The poorest nation in the western hemisphere has been turned to rubble and with more than 200,000 deaths – it’s hard to actually comprehend. When I realized that Tacoma has a population of 197,000, my chest clenched and I realized that I must do something. That was the genesis for the Wine for Haiti fundraiser.

Alone, I am unable to contribute as much as I’d like, so I decided to call upon the collaborative powers-that-be and put together a fundraiser with one simple goal in mind – to raise a boat load of money for people that are desperately in need of help. I don’t have a lot of extra money, but what I do have is a large stash of wine that’s built up over the years, and thus, Wine for Haiti was born.

The concept of Wine for Haiti event is simple:

•  Swing by the Vineyard Table on Saturday afternoon between 1-4 p.m. Please note: Vineyard Table can only accommodate 50 people at a time and I want as much foot traffic as possible.
•  Make a $25 suggested donation, then plan on trying some exciting wines. We will be opening many fun bottles to try at the event and will also have some tasty snacks to nosh on - all while raising funds for three fantastic organizations focused on Haiti.
•  The first 50 people through the door will take home a bottle of wine from my cellar with a value of at least $20. That is right, you will be taking a bottle of wine home with you. It’s a great deal.
•  If you get that feeling – that extra credit generous feeling – bid on one of more than 20 silent auction items (partial list below).

Silent auction items:

•  Large format bottles, as well as multi-bottle lots from some of the best wineries in Washington and Oregon.
•  Original art from local artists
• In home dinner for 6 prepared by amazing local chef Tom Black; paired with wines from Walla Walla   Winery Slight of Hand.
• A salon visit at Coupe Rokei in downtown Seattle.
•  In home cooking class for 2 families from Chef and Father creator, Greg Johnson
• Gift Certificates to local restaurants
•  An overnight stay at the Inn at Red Hills
•  A one hour massage from therapist Laura Sanderson
•  The remainder of the items will be added between now and Saturday

It’s my goal to raise $1,000 per hour, so please pass along Wine for Haiti details via word-of-mouth and your social media networks (Facebook & Twitter etc.). The more traffic this event receives, the more that we, as a collaborative effort, can help Haiti. 100% of these proceeds from this event will benefit Haitian relief efforts. Remember, this is a private event, so again, please pass this invite along to friends and family only. But, pass it on to a lot of them!

You may make your donation at the event (cash or check).

If you can’t make the festivities, but would still like to contribute, or perhaps you want to contribute with a debit or credit card, simply click on this link to complete your transaction in advance. If you are coming to the event and donated in advance, please print your ticket right from the BPT site. Our preference is for you to use this process, as it will make it easier for us to plan for the event.

You may also follow along on Twitter at #NWforhaiti -- we’ll be Tweeting all the feel-good fundraising details throughout the day.

Hope you can stop by for a fun-filled afternoon of helping Haiti. THIS IS A KID-FRIENDLY EVENT.

Wine for Haiti beneficiaries:

• 45% Wyclef Jean’s (a native Haitian) YELE foundation
• 45% Doctors without Borders
• 10% Local Seattleite Charyn Pfeuffer’s The Global Citizen Project

Charyn has traveled around the globe in the capacity of a professional journalist and have been profoundly impacted by the communities most underserved. It is her plan to swap her BlackBerry for a backpack and promote 12 selected causes and communities, as well as responsible travel via her platform as an influential journalist. Due to the tragedy in Haiti, Charyn made Haiti a top priority of the volunteer projects she’ll serve over the next year and has committed one month to Haitian relief efforts.

Find out more about Charyn’s project via Kickstarter here or her blog here