Men anpil, chay pa lou: Many Hands Make the Load Lighter
My Appeal
I'm so excited to be traveling to Haiti in August of 2011 to help raise houses and hope after the devastating earthquake of January, 2010. Please help Habitat for Humanity reach their goal of serving 50,000 families in Haiti over the next 5 years by donating here!
In the spirit of today's modern fundraising style, I am running an NPR pledge drive-style/Kickstarter-type fundraising campaign. You pledge, you get prizes! You pledge more, you get more exciting prizes! I'm also planning a couple of events that you can participate in by donating. It's a win-win-win situation - you win, I win, and most importantly, many families in Haiti will win!! Of course, you may donate any amount, large or small, ALL donations will be muchly appreciated!! You should think to yourself: Self, what do I want to donate to Habitat Haiti? The prizes are optional and just for fun. Additional exciting prizes may be added as my creative juices keep flowing, let me know if you have any ideas! Or services/goods to donate that I can offer? Let me know!
For a $10-15 donation, you get entry into either of the following events.
Hilarity for Haiti!
On Sunday, June 19th, come to Dolce Casa Cafe (4947 N. Damen Ave, Chicago, IL 60625) for an evening of improv comedy, food, and drink! My funny little improv group shall be performing a few sets of games that will hopefully make you laugh your way to grand generosity for Haiti. A $15 donation gets you food, beer, and wine, and maybe even a laugh or two! Or, BYOB, and pay $10 to get in! The event will also feature a caricature artist and awesome raffle prizes including Cubs tickets, a massage and facial at Thairapy, a Brain game party at Marbles, a Groupon gift certificate, a gift certificate to Boca de la Verita, and more!
Backyard Olympics!
On July 23rd, come to my backyard for a barbecue that will feed the brat-loving side of you, and a slew of shenanigans that will challenge the competitive side of you. Think ping pong balls, flippy cups, cookie faces, bags, foursquare, and more! A $15 donation gets you dinner, beer, and games!
For a $30 donation, you get a VIP entry to either of the events, which will include better booze, better seats, and a special swag bag!!
For a $50 donation, you get entry to either of the events, plus the choice of one of the following:
- A batch of delicious brownies or lemon bars, or my famous Cheese Grits, to be delivered at a mutually convenient time.
- A Parallel Parking Lesson, since it's about my best skill.
- 2 hours of babysitting/Uncle Allie Adventures, since hanging with small humans is my second best skill.
For a $100 donation, you get VIP entry into an event, plus a choice of one of the following:
- 4 hours of babysitting/Uncle Allie Adventures.
- A children's growth chart, my one and only artistic creation, which makes a lovely gift for a mother-to-be
- 2 items from the $50 category.
For a $250 donation, you get the grand prize:
- A special Ukulele serenade, at a mutually agreeable time and place. Though really, y'all should probably be paying me NOT to play the ukulele!! Ha! :)
Additional prize just added, if you can't make it to the event, or if you'd like to add on to your donation - the amazing bluegrass band Tangleweed will give you their brand-spanking new CD for a donation of $25!
Thank you SO much for your support, and please follow me on this blog! It's going to be an amazing summer of Habitatocity!!
Updates
"Men anpil chay pa lou" in action!
"Men Anpil Chay Pa Lou" is a Haitian Creole proverb that means, "Many Hands Make The Load Lighter." I have been wearing a t-shirt with this phrase on it for a while now, both because I liked the sentiment in general, and because when I bought it from Threadless some money somehow went to rebuilding efforts in Haiti. The phrase became the title of my fundraising appeal as I began to prepare for this trip a few months ago because I thought it was rather appropriate. Was it ever...
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Haiti, here we come!!
Wow. It's finally here. Departure day. I'm really excited, and eager to see what lies ahead. I've just had an awesome week with El Mejor Grupo - a fabulous group of individuals who were some of the hardest working and hilariously silly folks I've ever met. We had a blast, and got a ton of work done on our 2 worksites - the foundations are laid! The walls are ready to be built! Woo hoo!! I'm so impressed with the amount of work we got done, and the especially with the incredibly...
Habitat's hard at work in Guatemala and beyond!!
I've just spent a week in Guatemala on a Habitat Global Village trip, and it made my upcoming trip to Haiti feel very real. (That, plus it starts really soon!!) This trip to Guatemala has been a good reminder of the great work that Habitat does, and how it is a PERMANENT solution to housing inadequacies. The group I traveled with has been going to Guatemala once, twice, or even three times a year for the past 7 years, starting when I worked there and hosted them. Their commitment to...
Hilarity For Haiti!!
Tonight was so fun! A great crowd of supportive folks came out for an improv comedy show with my super fun improv friends, and donated a bunch of money! We had a silent auction with generous donations from local businesses, and our host venue was awesome - my across-the-alley neighbors own a lovely coffee shop in my neighborhood called Dolce Casa Cafe, and as it turns out, it's a great venue for an evening improv fundraiser event! Thank you Ross and Lori! Thank you also to Groupon,...
I'm going to Haiti this summer!!
This is exciting! I'm going to be a member of the first volunteer team to go back there since the earthquake in January of 2010, and I couldn't be more thrilled! And also, completely overwhelmed with the enormity of the task.
I remember when I heard about the earthquake in Haiti, back on January 12, 2010. I don't remember what I was getting ready for, but I was doing my hair in my bathroom, and listening to NPR on my little radio. A breaking news story came through to say that an...
