To end domestic violence.

I have teamed up with the men of Beards BeCAUSE to raise money and awareness to end domestic violence. The men are growing beards for two months (you can read how I feel about beards here) to draw attention to their fundraising efforts. Me? I thought about shaving my head and then growing that for two months. But then I thought about how my hair holds secret powers and decided against it. Instead, I’m hosting an online bake sale. No one wants to see me try to grow a beard or go bald anyway, right?

Right.

SO… this is a call for submissions to be auctioned off in the bake sale. Never participated in an online bake sale? It goes a little something like this…

1. Bloggers (and non-bloggers) and companies offer up items to be auctioned. These can be baked goods, products, crafts, services… anything!
2. On the day of the auction, people come to sweettaterblog.com on Wednesday, November 16 to bid on items. Bidding is hosted using an online auction widget that tracks highest bids and automatically notifies the highest bidder.
3. Winners make payments directly to Beards BeCAUSE and send me confirmation.
4. I notify the bakers of the winners’ confirmed payments and mailing addresses.
5. Bakers prepare and ship items to the winners.

It’s as easy as that. I hosted a similar event to fund my service trip to Nicaragua last year, and you can see those posts here, here and here if it’s still not making sense.

Want to donate an item to be auctioned?

Email sweettaterblog@gmail.com with…

Subject: Baking Because…
Item to be auctioned:
Dietary specifications (vegan, gluten-free, raw, etc.):
Shipping restrictions (US only, UK only, etc.):
Blog (if you have one):
I am baking to end domestic violence because… _________________

My personal fundraising goal is $2,500, and I’ll be damned if I won’t hit it. Thanks in advance for your support!

Liz with Denise and Stephanie

Last month a reader and fellow blogger named Liz reached out to me asking if I could help her raise awareness (and ultimately some funds) to support her Peace Corps project in Cameroon, which runs an orphanage for 19 disabled children.

“I have witnessed the amazing fundraising events that you and your
readers have generated.  I know this is asking a lot, but as I am down
to the wire (my service ends in December) I am a little desperate and
am trying to reach out to as many people as I can.  I was wondering if
you could help me reach my goal of raising $6,600 by the end of
October (yikes! I know..) by posting a link to my project on your
blog?  All funds are received directly through the official US Peace
Corps website.”

I am humbled by her selfless service to this incredible project and also by the fact that she thought I’d be able to do anything at all for her. Have we talked about how broke I am lately? Let’s not…

Pagoda

I’m broke, yes, but not everybody is. And I know I’m throwing a whole lot of charity around this month and that many of you are as broke as I am. But I think that if I let these stories keep pushing on our hearts, we can find a way to make it work. If she can get the money together, the orphanage will be able to relocate and double its capacity. Her goal is lofty–$5,545 by the end of October–but I really think she can do it. And I think we can help.

Jewelry in the women's workshop

Ways to Help Liz Hit Her Goal

1. Post a link to her project page on your blog
2. Share the project on Facebook
3. Tweet away… #cameroonorphanage
4. Email your friends and family about the cause
5. Donate here

So that’s enough from me. This story is not mine. Here’s Liz in her own words (with questions from me):

Why did I join the Peace Corps?

Well, it all began when I was 12 years old.  I was watching TV with my
mom when one of those “Save the Children”-type commercials came on.
Immediately an inner dialogue began that went something like this:
“Wow, look at those kids.  I want to help those kids.  When I grow up
I’m going to donate to one of these charities.  But wait, don’t people
say that only about 20 cents to the dollar make it to the actual
children?  Hey, there’s a guy there telling me to donate.  I wonder
how he got that job…”  And then I asked my mom how I could get a job
in “Africa” and she told me about the Peace Corps.  It was always in
the back of my mind from that moment on.  I started doing serious
research on the Peace Corps in high school, and, finally, my senior
year at college, I submitted my application.  One year later, I was
in!  I’m 25 years old, and in December I will have completed 27 months
in Cameroon as an Agroforestry/Environment volunteer.  Why Africa?
This I can’t really describe except to say that I love to stare at
world maps.  I like to pick some place that looks or sounds exotic,
and then I fixate until I can find a way to go there.  Africa just
always seemed to pull me toward her, and I always had this feeling
that I would find myself there, and believe me, I have!

What did I give up to go on this trip?

Tangibly, I gave up regular access to running water and electricity.
(Even though I live in a really nice cement house—no mud huts in my
village!—sometimes the powers-that-be cut off the power and water.
Don’t ask me what they do with it.  I still can’t figure it out!)  I
also must filter or boil all water before I drink it.  After two
years, the idea of taking a drink from a drinking fountain seems like
a real adventure!  Less tangibly, I gave up seeing my family and
friends and everything that is familiar.  I also gave up a five-year
relationship.  That was a doozy!

What have I gained?

I have gained so much!  In friendships, experience, and hilarious
anecdotes, I am rich.  I love the Peace Corps community, and my fellow
volunteers have become a family to me.  I also have my village
friendships, and the ability to go beyond “tourist” but a true member
of my community.  Most importantly, for me, I’ve learned so much about
myself.  How I can now speak French at a near fluent level; how I can
adapt to new surroundings and reconstruct a support system of new
friends; how I can clean up the gross little critters my cat brings in
without a man (Pagoda says hello to Ralph and Weaz!).  I feel strong
and independent, more so now than ever before.

I love the freedom I have.  I’m officially an
“Agroforestry/Environment” volunteer, but I’m free to respond to any
needs in my community, hence I do a lot of health work (HIV/AIDS
awareness and prevention, nutrition, and tofu classes).  One of the
largest goals of the Peace Corps is to promote peace through
understanding.  Having conversations with Cameroonians about what it
means to be American: that we’re not all rich, that we sometimes
disagree with our nations’ policies all of this helps foreigners
understand who we are as a nation.  On the reverse, I am able to talk
about Cameroon to my friends and family back home (and on my blog) to
help Americans see that Africa is rich in diversity and has so much
potential.  If we can all push through our prejudices, one person at a
time, we can make the world a better place.

Issa making a bamboo armoir

What has been horrifying?

The scariest part of this experience was the drive to the airport and
3 am with my parents and then-boyfriend.  I was having a full on panic
attack.  Could I do two whole years?  Am I really experienced enough
for this?  Will I be able to adjust to the language and culture?
Saying goodbye was difficult, but from the moment I met my fellow
volunteers, things have worked out just as they should, and I’ve
realized that living here is not that different from living at home.
It’s also better to try and fail, then to always wonder what could
have been.

What do I want the world to know about what I’m doing and why?

I think some people think that they would like to do the Peace Corps
(or travel, or whatever), but it seems too intimidating.  I would like
people to know that if I can do it, they can do it too.  I’m a quiet
girl from Iowa who gets really awful motion sickness, and yet here I
am: world traveler.  If you have that desire in you to see other
cultures, do it.  It will seem scary and overwhelming, but in the end
it’s so worth it.  Also, it’s never too late.  I have many Peace Corps
friends who are serving as volunteers in their sixties.

More about the orphanage I’m working with:

The orphanage I work with is officially called The Humanitarian
Association for Vulnerable People.  It was begun in 1998 by Mr.
Zachary and his wife Denise with help through the German Development
Services and an NGO from Belgium.  Right now, the center is home to 19
children, aged 5-20.  Many of the children are orphaned and/or living
with some kind of disability.  The center provides a warm place to
sleep, nutritious food every day, they pay for their school fees for
those who attend school and provide tutors to those with special
needs, and also train them in skills such as bamboo artistry, sewing
and beadwork so that they are equipped with the knowledge of how to
make a living with a goal that they can be independent and
contributing adults to society.  The center’s mere existence also
serves as a valuable tool for the community to better understand that
people with disabilities are capable of taking care of themselves.
The statistics on people with disabilities in developing countries are
staggering, and shows how important it is to support organizations
like this.  From the beginning of my service, Zachary and Denise took
me in and acted as surrogate parents to me, cooking me meals, inviting
me to cultural events, and even driving me to the hospital when I got
sick.  A year into my service I was informed that they had been given
the land where they are back when the land was infertile.  Now, the
land is fertile again, the landlord has asked them to leave.
Together, Zachary and I solicited help within the community, and the
prefect agreed to give just over one hectare of land so that the
Center can relocate.  Now, I’m searching for funds to prepare the land
for the new dormitory.  This is just the beginning.  I’ve vowed to
help them relocate so that they can stay in existence and continue to
provide for these children.  My hope is to raise $6,600 by the end of
October and complete the land preparation before I leave in December.
When I return to the States I would like to start an NGO to continue
supporting them.  Zachary and I have also completed many grant
applications through the embassies in Cameroon and through
organizations like UNICEF to fund the buildings.  I honestly feel that
this is the most important thing I can accomplish during my service.

Pagoda's kitten

Liz, you are an inspiration whether the money pulls through or not. Do what you do, girl. The world is lucky to have you.

www.beardsbecause.com

I love beards. Like… I love them. I think beards are like the male equivalent of boobs. Allow me to explain… First of all, beards and boobs are each a sign of masculinity and femininity, respectively, but, unlike other body parts that also divide the sexes, beards and boobs are visible to the world and can be rightly flaunted. Second, when it comes to beards and boobs, bigger is often assumed to be better but only to a point… because eventually things just get out of control. And finally, men can’t really have boobs and women can’t really have beards, and if by some chance they do, they are ridiculed for no longer fitting our silly American standard of beauty so it’s really best to admire these parts of the body from afar… on the opposite sex.

Perhaps the only thing better than a man with a beard is a man growing a beard. Think about it. You know when you look at a guy you previously had little to no interest in but now you’re looking at him and something is a little bit off but in a really good way and you’re like “What is going on here?” but all you can think to ask is, “Have you been… camping?” And he totally hasn’t been camping at all but the 3-day shadow on his almost-bearded face makes him look like he should definitely be pitching tents and chopping wood and building fires and… making out with you.

Calm down, Katie.

THE POINT IS… I am thrilled to be joining a bunch of beard growers to raise money for the annual Beards BeCAUSE fundraiser to end domestic violence and that is why I’m rambling on about beards.

“Beards BeCAUSE is a grass roots non-profit organization founded in 2007 to advocate against domestic violence while raising much needed funding for local abuse shelters. Our unique fundraising approach brings men and women together in the spirit of fun competition, but also maintains focus on domestic violence education.”

The way it works is that a bunch of awesome guys agree not to shave for two months while raising money for women’s shelters in Charlotte. The fundraising season kicked off Saturday night with the Clean Shaven Party and will end the first week in December with a whole bunch of hairy guys. It’s gonna be great. I’m on board because it’s a light-hearted, friendly way to draw much needed attention (and funds) to a heavy, heartbreaking cause.

I haven’t decided yet how I’ll be bringing in my funds, but since I can’t very well grow a beard for the next 70 days, I’ll be playing the game my own way. Expect another online bake sale or two, some Ralph & Weaz paraphernalia (tshirts??) and plenty of beard rants.

At first I thought about shaving my head but then I thought about what a terrible idea that was. So instead I’m doing something I can do. Yoga. Every day. 70 days of yoga. Here we go…

Day 2

Want to donate already?? Cool!

You can head on over to my Beards BeCAUSE page and click “Donate Now.”