You are invited to a street party!

WHAT: Cupcakes for Haiti Cookbook Launch & Leslieville East Corridor Street Party!

WHEN: Saturday, November 6

TIME: 2-4pm

WHERE: From Voulez-Vous Café
1560 Queen St. E.
To
Beaufort Décor,
1576 Queen St. E.

What is community?

Photo on the cover of the book features Angel Riccio's Brownie Heart Cupcake, pg 2 (more on Angel below).



"There's plenty of intelligence in the world, but the courage to do things differently is in short supply."
Marilyn vos Savant
Columnist, Author and Lecturer

Great quote, isn't it!


It resonates with the book we produced because our courage was a collective one,
thus, the more people, the more courage, and ultimately a courageous project =
more effective in getting our message across.

Our message is this: the people of Haiti still need our help.

Sure, we all gave $ to a charity back in January, but now, 8 months later that $ has been spent by MSF Canada and FINCA Canada, and they need more to continue their aid work.

The Interprovincial Group printed 1000 copies of Cupcakes for Haiti, for free. Free takes a lot of courage.

Rachael Muir designed the January cupcake bake sale poster for free, then went on to tackle the design of the book, for free. She is a very busy Art Director, mother of two, wife, philanthropist and wonderful friend. Free time is scarce and takes a lot of courage.

Brian Gahan photographed the cupcakes over a period of three weekends. He is a very busy partner at an ad agency, he's a father of two, awesome husband, philanthropist and supporter of many local and international causes. Like Rachael, his free time is scarce. You may think I'm partial to his charm, but it's authentic, and I have loved him for over 12 years because of his courage.

I define community as the people who you can call on the phone, near or far, people we bump into on the street daily, or yearly, people we include in emails, people we've never met in person but chat with on twitter, the word community is endless, like a circle, to me, courage and community are inseparable. Thank you for everyone who has been a part of the Cupcakes for Haiti community, and those that are yet to join the circle.

The Cupcakes for Haiti community is growing day-by-day, here are a few links to get you acquainted with some of the courageous people that enrich our cause (see sidebar for more). Follow these people, learn about them, support them and your community will grow too.

Kari @ ActivekidsClub

Brandie @ Parent Central and The Star.

Kathleen @ good egg communications

Amanda @ FamilyNature

Amanda @ Desmond and Beatrice

ActsofSweetness @ Acts of Sweetness

Joanna @ InsideToronto


Rick Declute @ Team DeClute - RE/MAX Hallmark


Shirley @ Beaufort Decor

Angel @ Shine Blogspot

Thanks for listening. XO

Cupcakes for Haiti fresh off the press!

Cupcakes for Haiti cookbook is fresh off the press! So many generous souls created this, so grateful. XO Launch party in the works, but if you want a copy sooner of course you can scoop one up. http://twitpic.com/1z4hne

Toronto Taste - pssst

To date, Toronto Taste has sold 1000 tickets to this Sunday's 20th Anniversary event! This year, like every year, they work tirelessly to make hunger history. By selling 600 more tickets, they will be one huge step closer to alleviating the huge burden that is hunger to those in the city of Toronto.

Second Harvest's vision is 'that no one need ever go hungry in the communities we serve'. Together, we CAN help make this a reality.

Pssst, want to know who else is helping?

All the Best Fine Foods will present Braised Korean Short Ribs w/Pickled Carrots

Chiado Restaurant will present Lobster w/Passionfruit Coulis and Panfried Bananas

Hiro Sushi together with Forte Bistro will present Pan Seared Smoked Salmon Sushi Rolls w/Rabbit Pate Japanese Mustard and Nori Paste

Dufflet Pastries will present, something scrumptious...and Chef Michael Smith will cook up sheer delights...and, well, there's so much more.
Please come see for yourself.

Toronto Taste - a taste of Toronto

Toronto Taste 2010

Just got off the phone with Patty Lowry, Copywriter Extraordinaire(!), we chatted about her involvement in this year's Make Hunger History campaign, which marks the 20th anniversary of Second Harvest's Toronto Taste fundraiser.

I asked her, how did it feel to work on this pro bono project?

She said, 'doing something from the heart is so satisfying. It gives us an opportunity to make a difference'.

She went on to say, that doing pro bono work for Second Harvest is near and dear to her heart, because it's about helping those closest to us, hungry people on the streets of where we live.


For me, trying to make sense of scarcity in such an abundant society is a complex issue, it makes me sad, and frustrated, but I know that together we do make a difference.


Toronto Taste is this Sunday, June 13, 6:30pm-10pm, at the ROM

Join 60 of the Toronto's top Chefs and 25 beverage purveyors for an unforgettable evening.



'Pairing cuisine and compassion' is a huge responsibility, please buy a ticket to the event, or buy raffle tickets for great prizes or bid on the auction items.

To purchase tickets, please contact the Second Harvest office at 416.408.2594.

Hope to see you there :-)

Tamra Davis Rocks!

Watch Tamra Davis cooking and feeding people at the Food Bank for New York City. She's awesome and inspiring! PS all her shows are great!!

We have a printing partner!

The Interprovincial Group just called, they will print our cookbook, pro bono!
So truly grateful for their belief in our Cupcakes 4 Haiti endeavours. Thank you!

More Gratitude

Local journalist extraordinaire, Joanna Lavoie, has written a lovely story about what our community accomplished together.

We are most grateful that you made time for us, and shared our story so widely Joanna. Thank you! xoxo

Acts of Sweetness visit TDC!

Photo credit: Brian Gahan, Top Drawer Creative Inc.



The awesome Redpath Team, AKA @actsofsweetness visited us at the first of several professional photoshoots. They drove across the city in their adorable vehicle, brought joy, cookies and sugar! Please follow them on twitter, become of fan of theirs on facebook, and follow their tales on their exciting blog.


Here's the fruit of their labour, featuring yours truly and some of the great bakers: Youtube.


Thank you Acts of Sweetness for honouring us with a visit during such a critical step in our book's development!

Belated update

So many exciting calls to make and emails to send and respond to and photos to be taken and pleases to speak, that there's only a tiny fragment of time for a blog update. If you want to more up-to-date & behind-the-scenes information, please join our Cupcakes 4 Haiti Cookbook fan page.


Thank you to each and every one of you that is helping this project grow from seedling to magnificent miraculous tree. A special thank you to Baker Rhondda, whose beautiful website was born yesterday. Please pay her a special visit and say hello with a nice comment. xo

Cupcakes 4 Haiti - The Cookbook

Thanks @Baker Erica Fyvie, Mama/Writer/Baker, Film Lover Extraordinaire for baking Organic Vanilla Cupcakes. xo




Our group's next step is to publish our cookbook within a month (!!!) so that we can continue our fundraising efforts for MSF/Doctors Without Borders and FINCA. We will continue to collaborate with Les Domestiques - Cyclists Who Serve and Top Drawer Creative Inc - Creatives Who Serve -- both whom are our guardian angels, who will help us reach our 10 year plan of raising $1 billion dollars to help with the world's efforts to rebuild Haiti.

All the money is being raised via our collective efforts we have 'dubbed' the cupcake revolution which started on Saturday, February 23, 2010.

In order to accomplish our goals, we will refer to this beautiful speech, over and over for the next ten years. Please join the cupcake revolution, it's going to take lots of homemade baking to make this happen. Please email: susana@gahan.ws
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

cupcake revolution

Thanks @Baker Patty Lowry, Copywriter Extraordinaire for baking Rainbow Marshmallow Cupcakes. xo


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnTH03x0IcQ

So grateful to Sir George and Tristan for showing up, CP24 rocks!!!!!!! xoxo

Cupcakes for Haiti Sweetness for Haiti XOXO

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Cupcakes for Haiti - an irresistible invitation

Cupcakes for Haiti is a huge community of people that is setting up shop, lemonade stand like, this Saturday, January 23 from 9am-1pm in support of MSF/Doctors Without Borders. Click 'here' for the invite, or scroll down this page to the event poster.

Attendees can buy one or more cupcakes, buy naked cupcakes and get creative at the 'decorate-your-own' table, buy other homemade with love goodies (brownies, muffins, loaves), donate in loonies, cheques or cupcakes, and enjoy some live music by Kristin Lindell.

Cupcakes are being baked, frosting is being stirred, and many other sweet delights are being created in honour of our neighbours in Haiti.


Local business that's helping includes: Top Drawer Creative, Desmond and Beatrice, Devilish Cupcakes, Vocalist and Musician Kristin Lindell, E.B. Box Company, and activekidsclub.com.

We welcome everyone to help Haiti - this is an outdoor & eco event, so please dress warmly and bring your own mugs for coffee and large containers to transport your large cupcake orders. Thank you!!!!!

cupcake power!

In this picture: carrot cake cupcakes we baked last night, the testers/trial run, waiting to be frosted.


Cupcakes for Haiti is grateful to all the bakers who've promised to bake (on average, 2 dozen cupcakes each)!

If you love cupcakes
if you love to help people
if you want to shmooze on our front lawn
while your kids decorate cupcakes all in the name of MSF/Doctors Without Borders, come join us!

WHEN: Saturday, January 23
TIME: 9am-1pm ish
WHERE: 125 Eastwood Rd (continuation of lower Gerrard, east of Coxwell, between Edgewood & Bowmore)

Cupcakes for Haiti, Sat Jan 23 9am-1pm

Our family and friends are hosting Cupcakes for Haiti at our house, lemonade-stand like. Please help us spread the word, and join us if you are in Toronto this Saturday.
Thanks friends!

Breakfast Clubs, Day 2

So far $40 for Breakfast Club! Not bad, can be much better.

So lurker pals, please leave a comment today. Just say 'hello', leave the name of your favourite fruit, anything so that the Breakfast Club gets more money.


Have a fantastic day!
XO



PS tomorrow I will announce the winners :-)

PPS Mama M: see what amazing stuff you get me involved in. YOU rock!! XO