Menu for Hope V: Win SGCC's Cupcake Lollapalooza!

If you've been a member of the food blogging community for any length of time then you're probably already familiar with Menu for Hope. In case you're not, Menu for Hope is the annual fundraising campaign founded and organized by fellow food blogger Pim of Chez Pim. Each December, food bloggers from all over the world join the campaign by offering a delectable assortment of food-related prizes which are raffled off in the Menu for Hope raffle. Anyone can buy raffle tickets at $10 a piece to bid on these prizes. Each $10 donated earns you one shot to bid on a prize of your choice. The more tickets you buy, the more chances you have to win. At the end of the two-week campaign, the raffle tickets are drawn and the results announced on Chez Pim.

Last year, Menu for Hope raised over $90,000 to support the school lunch program in Lesotho, working with the UN World Food Programme. The WFP is the world’s largest food aid agency, working with over 1,000 other organizations in over 75 countries. In addition to providing food, the World Food Program helps hungry people to become self-reliant so that they escape hunger for good.

This year, Menu for Hope has chosen to work with the WFP once again to continue to support the Lesotho program. If you'd like to learn more, Pim has a great FAQ post up on her site, which I would encourage you to visit.

I am very pleased to announce that SGCC will be sponsoring a prize this year for the Menu for Hope raffle. Let me tell you a little about it.

Allow me to present the SGCC Cupcake Lollapalooza!

This delicious package includes an autographed 8x10, print of Cupcake Girl by Florida artist Annie Laurie of Annie Laurie Designs. This lively and whimsical work of art comes matted and framed in a lovely, hand-painted custom wood frame with the words "You're one sprinkle away from the sweet life...Eat dessert first!" handwritten by the artist around the perimeter of the print. Isn't she adorable? Mr. SGCC says she kind of looks like me, except that I don't usually walk around with a cupcake on my head!

A special Hello Cupcake gift set is next, which includes a copy of the wildly popular and too cute for words cupcake handbook, Hello Cupcake, by Alan Richardson and Karen Tack. Unless you've been living under a rock and have totally missed the cupcake craze, you know that this book has become a much beloved cult classic in the food blog world. If you don't already have a copy - you NEED one. If you do have a copy - you still NEED this, because as well as the cookbook, this set also includes a set of pretty decorative paper cupcake liners and a cupcake decorating kit. It has all you need to recreate some of those fabulous Hello Cupcake confections!

Also included in this package are a set of 12 multicolored silicone cupcake baking cups and a set of 24 multicolored silicone mini-cupcake baking cups.

Last, but not least, this package comes with a container of Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake mix, from the legendary bakery of the same name.

With Cupcake Girl as your inspiration, and the rest of these cool tools at your disposal, you'll soon be a cupcake pro!

The prize code for my Cupcake Lollapalooza is UE09. You will need this number if you decide to bid on this item.

Have I inspired you to donate yet? I hope so, but if you still need a little more prodding, please check out Pim's site for a complete list of all of the fabulous prizes available.

All of you East-Coasters should also stop by Steamy Kitchen to take a look at the rest of the prizes from our corner of the world. Jaden has graciously taken the reigns as the regional director for the U.S. East Coast effort.

When you are ready to buy your raffle tickets, here's what you need to do:

1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at http://chezpim.com
2. Go to the donation site at http://www.firstgiving.com/menuforhope5 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 can claim the corporate match.
5. Please allow us to see your email address so that we can contact you if you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone. We promise!

Our coordinators have done everything they can to make this whole process easy and painless for you. So, what are you waiting for?

Go forth and SHOP!!!