Menu for Hope V

Every holiday season, Pim's ever-successful Menu for Hope always catches me off guard. Don't know what it is? It's an annual fundraising event held by Pim of Chez Pim; all proceeds go to the UN World Food Programme's school lunch program in Lesotho. Last year, by just paying $10 per raffle ticket, food bloggers and food blog readers from across the globe united to donate $91,188.00 (US!) to the fund. This year, despite the economic crisis, we all hope to cross that $100K barrier.

Aside from the great cause itself, I love Menu for Hope for two additional reasons:

1) The chance to drool over and bid on awesome foodie prizes from the world over, and
2) The chance to discover beautiful, well-written food blogs, like this year's Canadian host, Meena's Hooked on Heat.

Go on, take a look at the Canadian prizes. The first one's from Ceci n'est pas un food... oh, that's me! I'm very pleased to announce that I will be offering prize CA01 this year, which is...

CA01: A Six-Week Nutrition Makeover from an (almost!) Registered Dietitian

Inspired by Kathryn of Limes & Lycopene's Menu for Hope prize last year (and this year), I would like to offer up my own nutrition consultation services as a prize. As some of you may already know, I am graduating with a BSc in Nutritional Sciences from McGill in days, where I completed the integrated internship program. I will become an RD after I complete the Canadian Dietetic Registration Exam in the spring. Through my internship and through working at a gym this past summer, I've had plenty of experience working with clients with a variety of health needs. Losing weight and getting healthy are probably the most popular New Years resolutions. So why not start 2009 with a little bit of professional help? The six-week nutrition makeover will include a nutrition assessment, a nutrition plan that's suited to your lifestyle, and the benefit of working with a qualified professional. Consultations will be done via email, so anyone around the world can take a shot at this prize!

I would also like to stress that although losing weight is probably the most popular nutrition issue, anyone can benefit from a little nutrition counselling. Training for a marathon? Getting ready to welcome a new baby? Just diagnosed with celiac's disease? This prize can be right for you too!

So how do you get in on all the prizes (and giving to such a wonderful program)? Here are the donation instructions:

Donation Instructions:
1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at Chez Pim
2. Go to the donation site at Firstgiving and make a donation.
3. Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code.
For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xEU01, 3xEU02
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
5. Please 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.

Good luck and happy holidays! :)