A Worldwide Potluck
Sorry for the radio silence. As some of you may already know, we’re out in Tofino, in Clayoquot Sound. We made the pilgrimage late last week in an attempt to escape the snow and freezing rain and perhaps not shovel the sidewalks for every day of spring break. It only took until Abbotsford to seek out something green and growing. So we’re here, all of us, in the pouring rain and the lush green. There’s a garden already growing – plenty of kale and chard – in the yard next door. We’ve seen two rainbows over Meares island (out our window) and a few seals, and hundreds of baby crabs hiding under the rocks. We’ve jumped in the waves (those of us under 10 have, anyway), eaten fish and chips, played Frisbee on the beach and witnessed one spectacular sunset. (Looking at the forecast, I’m hoping it’s not our last.)
Somehow it feels right to be on the furthest west coast of Canada, right on the Pacific ocean, almost directly across from Japan, on a piece of land with a Japanese history – a Japanese family once owned it, and there’s still bamboo growing, and the remains of a koi pond and stream under a falling-apart-but-still-functional bridge. The first morning here I walked down to the beach and found a chunk of weathered porcelain bowl – an Asian noodle bowl – and the day after Mike found a rock so smooth and perfectly oval you can stand it on one end and spin it like a top.
It’s a good place to launch this little project I’ve had in mind. A lot of you have asked if I’m doing another Blog Aid book, this time to benefit Japan. I’m not. Long story. (I have been involved in a similar project, which hasn’t been announced yet, but will soon.) I’m impressed with all the things people are coming up with to help – in the past couple weeks I’ve had more luck coming up with ideas than I’ve had actually executing them.
My first Big Idea was to throw a virtual potluck. Because when it comes down to it, what most of us wish we could do is whip up a nice comforting pot of soup to bring to Japan to directly show our support and good wishes, right? Feeding people, nourishing them when they need it most, is the most basic and direct way to show you care, isn’t it? So if you could bring a pot of something warm and delicious to Japan, wouldn’t you? A nice casserole, perhaps? How much might that cost in ingredients? $10? $20? and what about your time?
Here, let me make it easier for you. The World Food Programme (WFP) has a new site that will allow you to input food items; it calculates the cost and approximate number of people that money will feed, and you can donate directly. I love that. You can punch in a tuna casserole or a dozen muffins. This is exactly the sort of thing I envisioned coming up with, except that I can’t program fancy websites. Lucky that they can, and already did. You can do it here.
In terms of relief for Japan, the WFP has launched a logistics operation to support the Japanese government’s delivery of relief items to victims of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis – some 350,000 people are currently in temporary shelters. From their website:
“Today WFP stands with Japan – one of the most generous humanitarian nations on earth that has always been there when others have needed help,” said WFP Executive Director, Josette Sheeran. “WFP’s emergency operation is a direct response to the government’s request for help in meeting the epic logistical challenges they face in their heroic rescue efforts.”
In addition, WFP has moved more than 1,500 metric tons of food into Eastern Libya – enough to feed more than 100,000 people for a month – and pre-positioned more than 6,000 metric tons of food in emergency supplies.
Of course there’s always the Red Cross – and the lesser known option to donate directly to the Japanese Red Cross. The CBC has compiled a list of agencies on their website, too. While you’re at it, hold a real-life potluck dinner for those you’re glad to have in your life, just because. Let everyone bring something delicious, feed each other, and celebrate all that which becomes more acutely precious after watching so many others lose it. I haven’t managed to pull together a real-life potluck, but will do soon. (Fortunately potlucks aren’t time sensitive.)
But then I thought the term potluck could really be expanded to mean much more. Its definition, after all, is “whatever is available or comes one’s way”, which is really what all this is about – things that come our way, big or small, expected or not, how those things affect our lives and how we can all have positive impacts on each others’ lives. A potluck doesn’t have to refer to food, but a new way to look at injecting some joy and goodwill within our own circles and communities – to those people we are able to directly impact. We could all use a little happy amidst this dragging-on-winter and onslaught of sad and scary news, don’t you think? If the events that have unfolded in Japan cause us all to hug our loved ones a little more closely, to be kinder to people we don’t know, to make an effort to spread a little more happiness, well that’s something. As someone obviously very smart once said: you can’t help everyone, but you can help someone. (Even if it’s yourself.) It seems the Japanese are living that lesson already, and we could all learn something from the example they’ve been setting every day.
At the same time I was pondering this idea, and how it might unfold into something tangible, my good friend C, the one who designed and laid out the Blog Aid book, emailed me with a story of her own sadness and time spent with a group whose family was in Japan. And although they had all been accounted for, she said, the heaviness of soul in the room was palpable. I think that’s as good a descriptor as any for the world right now – so many heavy hearts.
She told me about a geologist she met who spoke (in reference to the Japanese earthquake) about plate tectonics, and how the shifting of the earth’s plates and earthquakes are necessary for the survival of all life on this planet. A whole new way of looking at things that somehow shed some light on an otherwise overwhelmingly tragic situation and gave her hope. She reiterated what I had been thinking – that the best thing to do is pass it on, using whatever gifts and talents we have – our driving force last year with Blog Aid.
And so I’m hoping we can make this even bigger, something we can all involve ourselves in a little more deeply, and have it be more accessible to everyone, including those who may not have money to spend on a cookbook. We can all make a difference. I thought I’d put it out there and see what we can come up with between us – I know there are a lot of creative minds and plenty of good will out there. To help with our project, the good folks at Maple Leaf Prime (the ones who are giving away two trips for two on the Rocky Mountaineer with me in May!) have sent me fifty (FIFTY!) Walmart gift cards with a value of $25 each. That’s $1250 for us to spend on good things. Collectively we should be able to make a difference in a lot of lives, and hope it has a ripple effect. It always does. You never know what you’ll trigger.
If you want to get involved, think of something you could do to make someone’s life a little happier or more comfortable. Socks or toothbrushes for a shelter. Food for a food bank. A homemade meal for someone who needs it. A party for you and your friends (a potluck in honour of Japan!). Seeds to plant a community garden. It could help one person or a lot of people, it’s up to you. I know there are a lot of creative minds out there, and I know you’ll come up with some cool stuff. This is a great opportunity to get your kids involved – kids have great ideas, and it’s a good thing to get them thinking about how they might be able to help others. Perhaps you could come up with a way to turn that $25 into even more money – with a bake sale, lemonade stand or other fundraiser. It’s amazing the positive impact you can make with not much money. (Although you can buy just about anything you need at Walmart, you don’t have to anchor your idea to it. I’ll send the card anyway!)
In terms of divvying up these cards, if you want one, leave a comment with your idea. For the next five days we’ll choose ten a day and mail out cards. (Leave your email address, so I can contact you!) Later on, I’ll have a special gift for the most creative idea – not that they won’t all be completely great – a Japanese cast iron tea pot, meant to symbolize the everlasting strength and unity of the world.
When you do your thing – whatever it is – I want to hear about it! Keep us posted on what you did and how it went. Send pictures! I’ll pass the feel-good stories on via blog posts.
I’m so excited about this!
A BIG HUGE THANKS to Maple Leaf Prime for helping finance this project.
Let’s start the potluck!
March 29 2011 | leftovers | 43 Comments »
