A Menu for Hope III

The third annual edition of Chez Pim's online fundraising campaign, A Menu For Hope has returned to the blogosphere. Last year, $17,000 in contributions were raised to support UNICEF. This year, the campaign is raising support to benefit the United Nations World Food Programme, the food aid arm of the UN.

The campaign takes the form of a raffle for food-related prizes offered up by food bloggers from around the world. For every $10 you donate, you may claim one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. The more you give, the better your chance to win, and the more that the World Food Programme will benefit from your generosity. The campaign is scheduled to run from now until Friday, December 22nd, 6:00 p.m. PST.

Oxford University Press has generously donated a copy of the Oxford Companion to Food ($65) towards A Menu for Hope. Originally edited by food historian Alan Davidson and published in 1999, the second edition of this massive culinary reference book was just released this past October under the editorship of food writer Tom Jaine. The new edition, clocking in at 976 pages, includes more than 70 new entries -- from "molecular gastronomy" to "doggy bags" (not to mention "paper-bag cookery").

So, how can you support A Menu for Hope and win a copy of this book or the myriad other prizes being offered?

Here's how:

1. Choose among the prizes and identify your prize code at Chez Pim (the code for the Oxford Companion to Food is UE21).

2. Go to the donation page at http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhopeIII and make a donation: each $10 donation will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize (or prizes) you'd like in the "Personal Message" section in the donation form when confirming your donation. Indicate how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code -- for example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for UW01 and 3 for UW02.

3. If your company matches your charity donation, please remember to check the box and fill in the information so the corporate match is claimed.

4. Please also check the box to allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win.  Your email address will not be shared with anyone.

5. Check back at Chez Pim on January 15 for the results of the raffle (the drawing will be done electronically).