Poverty is Alive and Kicking

My children scarfed down a huge meal last night. Macaroni and cheese, barbecue meatballs, peas, and sliced tomatoes. All topped off with a butter pecan ice cream cone treat. Did I mention they also each ate an entire peanut butter and jelly sandwich an hour before their dinner? Then they woke up and each ate one sunnyside up egg, buttered toast, a whole pear, and bowl of yogurt. They count their servings of fruits and vegetables everyday to ensure we don't gyp them of their five servings. I have written before of what super champ eaters I have. I have also written about how much I love food and how much of it I eat. Food is a part of our family's brand DNA.

I am grateful. Grateful for the healthy options we have, for Farmer Tom and the insanely delicious organic veggies he provides us, for the family meal times we share, for food coma, for smeared chocolate on my kids faces, for drips of syrup on my pajamas, for sticky fingers, for flour in the crevices of my stove, for a full belly.

We have so much.

We have so much more than most.

Children in our proverbial and literal own backyards are hungry. They fall asleep to the grumble of their bellies and awake to the nausea of hunger. They eat meals at school and go without on weekends. They know nothing of organic strawberries and pulled pork simmering in sauce. They learn to live without while we cut off crusts and pour out half drunk apple juice boxes.

We can help those kids. Help them grow and learn and have faith in the power and goodness of others. Inspire them and your own kids to take note of hunger and more importantly, take action.

Today is Blog Action Day. Bloggers big and small are using our voices to speak out on eradicating poverty. I pledge to donate $1 to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina for every single comment I get on this post. I totally filched this fabulous idea from Magpie Musing. I don't think she'll mind.

So what are you waiting for? Leave a comment and forward this to everyone you know. I promise you there is no easier way to help the poor. Your words equal my money. Now that's putting your money where another's mouth is.

Help Kids Get Classroom Supplies. Please.

Bird has the privilege of going to a top notch school. Public school. He has a gecko in his classroom. And some pretty cool snails that require his teacher to have special snail certification. He has books galore, comfy nooks to curl up in, a microscope, dozens of Legos, crayons, markers, pencils, glue, glitter, construction paper, notebook paper, newspaper, bubbles, baubles, and building blocks. Those schools want for nothing. Well, the teachers probably want more money, and I cannot blame them.

Robeson County is North Carolina's poorest county. The median income is $13,244 (I could spend hours poring over Census data!). Now imagine feeding, clothing, protecting, transporting, and nurturing your children for that amount. And that's not to mention healthcare and insurance. Or god forbid birthdays and holidays. This is a place where parents hope their kids don't lose their baby teeth because the Tooth Fairy is flat broke.

I'd like to do my part to help those kids get a more enriching education. And to equip those dedicated teachers to give those kids every opportunity my Bird has in kindergarten. It's the least I can do.

Donors Choose helps teachers make requests for specific items they need to supplement their classrooms and curricula. I'd like to help out a teacher in Robeson County and I'm asking my readers to give a dime or ten too. Literally one dollar would help. Like with exercise and with voting, every little bit helps. In aggregate we are more powerful than as one.

Just click on the Donors Choose little widget thingee in my lefthand sidebar. It's fast and easy to donate. And it'll feel better than those warm fuzzy slippers tucked by your nightstand.