BwoB: Help for Joplin, MO (and an update)

Bloggers without Borders (BwoB) is a blogger-based charity whose mission is to help people—bloggers and readers alike—by harnessing the good will of the blogging community. Its founders are Maggy Keet of ThreeManyCooks, Erika Pineda-Ghanny of The Ivory Hut, Julie Van Rosendaal of Dinner with Julie, and Aimee Wimbush-Bourque of Simple Bites. BwoB officially launches in July 2011.

UPDATE (May 27): It’s been about 36 hours since we launched Bloggers without Borders and our fundraising efforts for tornado victims, so we thought it was time for a progress report. As of midnight last night, we had raised over $1,200 for tornado victims across the United States. We can’t thank you enough for your quick and generous response.

After launching our Joplin campaign (original post below), another blogger with another need came to our attention. Kristan of Confessions of a Cookbook Queen lives 5 minutes from where another tornado hit in Arkansas. Fortunately, lives were spared, but her uncle—a father of four who doesn’t have much insurance—lost the family business when his flooring store was flattened. Family homes were also severely damaged and the overall loss is heartbreaking.

Kristan’s uncle’s business. Photo by Kristan

When she learned of Kristan’s situation, Shelia, our Joplin recipient, generously offered to share half of the fundraising proceeds with Kristan’s community. “There is so much need that we definitely need to spread the love,” she said.

Kristan will distribute her share of the funds to the most urgent of situations in the Etna/Denning, AR community. She will also give us an update on her blog and share how the money was allotted. Truly, this is bloggers helping bloggers.

As we watch the news and the updates that are coming from these tornado-stricken areas, we feel such deep sadness for these people who have lost everything. Many of you expressed the same sentiment but we no longer feel helpless or hopeless, because together as bloggers, we are actually doing something to help in a real and meaningful way.

Our goal is to raise at least $2,000 so that we can give each blogger and her community $1,000. Please help us reach that goal by donating at the bottom of the post!

And for those who already have, thank you for your support. Your tweets and blog posts touch us, and they encourage us to forge ahead. There is much need, yes, but together we’re making a difference.

With gratitude,

Bloggers without Borders

Original Post (May 25)

Everyone around the country is deeply saddened by the tragedy that has taken place in Joplin, MO. And sadly, the tragedy has closely touched the life of our blogging friend, Sheila from Strawberry Cake. Her great aunt was killed when the nursing home she was living in was hit by the huge tornado that devastated the area. Other members of Sheila’s family were hospitalized with injuries and have damaged homes.

Photo Credit: Tom Uhlenbrock, Missouri Department of Natural Resources

We know there are many bloggers out there who would like to help the people of Joplin—but, of course, we are not there. We don’t know what the needs are. So we are raising money for Sheila’s family and the people of Joplin. Rather than give it to a large aid organization, we’re going to give it to Sheila so that she can distribute it to the people, organizations or local efforts that need help.

Once the money is collected and has been dispersed, Sheila will share with us what she did with the money—who it helped and how it helped—so that we can share that with you. You’ll know right where your money went.

So please give $1, $5 or as much as your financial situation allows. This money will go to people directly affected by the disaster—given to the people who need it by someone from our own community.

Thank you for your support,

Maggy, Erika, Julie and Aimee
Bloggers without Borders

Want to spread the word? Want to help us raise money? E-mail us and we’ll send you the code for the BwoB badge and donate button. You can also stay updated by following us on Twitter at @bloggerswob.

Tagged as: BwoB