saving the world one starbucks at a time

I took a little break from updating because January has been a crazy month so far.  With everything that's happened in the last week I couldn't bring myself to make witty comments about yummy food.  The reality is that people are going to be helping in Haiti for weeks, months and even years to come.  It's important to stay aware of what is going on, and to donate where you can.  What's occurred is heartbreaking, and much like the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami or 2005's Hurricane Katrina, these disasters have a lasting effect on the human consciousness.

With that being said, life must go on.  Times like these are when people start to talk about what's really important in life.  Though the tendency is for there to be a lot of talk and little action within one's own life.  The reality is that most of us are not going to be on the front lines of helping those in Haiti.  We are however on the front lines of our own lives.  You might not be able to change the whole world at once, but little things add up over time.  

If in the last week you've said "life really is so precious"... maybe over your morning coffee today ask if you're treating your own life that way?  If you have legs to stand on and arms to swing, don't you owe it to your body to move them around?  Is eating that double bacon cheeseburger more important than putting food in your body that will help it to thrive?  Even consider little things that might be making you feel down, like getting a new hair cut.  It's easy to blow that off as seeming superficial, but maybe changing something like that will give you a boost of positivity.  Moods are contagious, so if you feel positive then the people around you will as well.  And positivity will breed productivity and change.

I started fat girl skinny because I wanted to share my story.  I wanted to help any one else that might be suffering though what I did.  Most of all I wanted to raise awareness of food related illness so that other people could prevent it from happening to them.  But that kind of change doesn't end at the dinner table, or with your bathroom scale.  It changes how you treat the world around you as well.

With all of that being said, if you're at a Starbucks in the next few days I would encourage you to donate to help Haiti.  You can donate right at the register, in both Canadian and American Starbucks stores.  The money will go directly to the Red Cross.  An extra $5 isn't much for us, but it can make a huge difference to them.

There are many organizations out there doing work to help Haiti, and everyone has their favourite.  One of the charities that I believe in is called Free the Children.  It's an organization that was started in 1995 by a 12 year old in Canada named Craig Kielburger.  As the years went on the charity to stop child labour through education has become huge.  They are a long-term organization who work at home and abroad.  They consider themselves "children helping children", and focus on educating kids & teens in North America about situations going on in the rest of the world.  They've built more than 500 schools around the world, including ones in Haiti.  Donations are accepted in both Canadian & US funds on their website.

Craig is currently in Haiti helping to get supplies in and has been tweeting from the ground everything that he sees.  Follow him @craigkielburger for more news or watch his video updates on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/freethechildrenintl

I almost forgot to mention a benefit being put on by the lovely and amazing @TheAnthology here in Vancouver on January 27th check it out! http://www.hopeinhaiti.ca/