When I was approached by Asha of the wonderful blog Fork, Spoon, Knife to participate in an auction to support the people in Japan, I had to immediately jump to the chance. I had been thinking about a way to raise money to support the people in Japan and this is the perfect opportunity. Every day I look at the tv screen to see the news and the updates about Japan and I cannot imagine the absolute horror the people of the affected areas have to go through. Every little thing we can do to help is something. It’s the combined effort of all of us that will make this contribution meaningful. I would also greatly appreciate it if you spread the word about the auction. You can use the facebook or twitter buttons below the post to do just that.
Thanks!
In a land far away, the tremors have yet to subside, the Earth has still not stopping shaking and continues to heave ever so often. Yet, the people from the Land of the Rising Sun, have already started picking up the pieces and putting them together, displaying enormous courage in the face of despair to reach out and help others even when they have little themselves. This display of true spirit and common bond cannot but fail to inspire and move us.
In an effort to lend a helping hand (humble as it may be) and in support of the perseverance of human spirit, a small group of international food bloggers have come together to put their passion for food to a charitable cause. The International Food Bloggers Auction for Japan is a contributive effort from these bloggers to raise funds for the Japanese Red Cross Society towards their disaster relief efforts.
Each blogger has pledged an item that will be auctioned to be sold to the highest bidder. Details of the pledges are included below. The auction will run live from March 23, 2011 to April 10, 2011, during which period, readers may bid on as many items as they wish. Once the auction closes and the highest bidder is identified, the person will receive the item that he/she bid for and the bid amount will be donated to Japanese Red Cross in entirety.
Peanut Butter & Co., a NYC based local peanut butter company has also pledged a fabulous Peanut Butter & Jelly Picnic Basket for our auction. Our thanks to Australian food legends Maggie Beer, Margaret Fulton and Stephanie Alexander for supporting our effort by giving us signed copies of their cookbooks for the auction.
Below are the rules of the auction –
1. Auction Period: March 23, 2011 to April 10, 2011.
2. The auction is open to all readers across the globe. Availability of items is as indicated in the Auction Bid Form.
3. Bid entries are to be made using the Auction Bid Form.
4. Bidding can be for one or more items. Multiple bids from the same bidder will be accepted and highest bid will be taken into account. Minimum and High bids for each item will be made available at the end of each day.
5. Auction closes at 12pm EST, April 10, 2011. Highest bidders and bid amounts will be revealed in a post by April 12, 2011.
6. The winners will be asked to transfer the pledged amount through PayPal, which, will then be donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society via Google Crisis Response.
7. Winners will receive their items within two weeks of the reveal post announcing the winners.
Participating Bloggers and Items Pledged
1. Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen – 1 large box each of a dozen assorted Eggless Decorated Sugar Cookies to 2 of the highest bidders
2. Asha of Fork Spoon Knife – Breakfast Basket with Homemade Granola with Fruits and Nuts, Orange Marmalade and Strawberry Jam
3. Asha of Fork Spoon Knife– Peanut Goodies Basket, sponsored by Peanut Butter & Co. Hamper includes 1 large picnic basket with 8 jars of a variety of peanut butters from Dark Chocolate Dreams to Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, 3 jars of fruit preserves and jelly, 1 jar of peanut pretzels and a Peanut Cookbook
4. Liren of Kitchen Confidante – Afternoon Tea Basket, inspired by her husband’s family who spent 5 years in Japan. It will have a freshly baked loaf of our family’s Buttermilk Banana Bread, a tin of Samovar Green Tea, and a few other Bay Area goodies
5. Simone of Junglefrog Cooking – Traditional Dutch Basket with many Dutch food items like stroopwafels, Dutch Cheese and much more and also Muider schipperbitter which is a typical Dutch alcoholic drink
6. Trissa of Trissalicious – Signed copies of cookbooks from Australian cooking icons, Maggie Beer, Margaret Fulton and Stephanie Alexander.
7. Vanille of At Down Under – Kiwi Basket with 1 pot of NZ organic Manuka honey (J.Friend & Co – 160g), 1 pot of NZ organic Kamahi honey (J.Friend & Co – 160g), 1 bottle of Feijoa and limeblossom juiced tea (Teza – 325ml) and a reusable shopping bag (Ooid Design – 100% Organic cotton)
There are obviously many other ways to help us contribute to Japan and I would urge you to spread the word on twitter, facebook or other social media! Thanks for all your help and we are looking forward to seeing your bids come in! To document all the bids coming in please leave a comment to note that you have done so.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow..interesting information..it is so sad to hear all the news coming from japan..Congrats on your effort. Good luck. By the way I like your blog and I book marked it. Happy to be here again.
My daughter has an Etsy shop that sells earrings. We would love to donate 2 pairs of earrings to this auction if it is still open for entries. Her web address is: capitolacollection@etsy.com
Just let us know and we’ll do our best to help our your wonderful cause.
What a great idea! The support for recovery efforts in Japan from all around the world is inspiring. I’m working with a group of food bloggers in Austin to plan a Bake Sale for Japan for next Saturday. It’s been great to see how many people want to be involved.