Share the Bounty

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Good morning everybody! We are up early in the DALS house today -- doing some pie-baking, turkey-seasoning, and last-minute farm-shopping before heading out to my sister's house in Long Island to spend a few days with the family. As I've mentioned many millions of times, Thanksgiving is my Super Bowl. There's no holiday I love more for its sheer bounteous bounty.

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About that bounty!

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A lot of you have been in touch with me since the Election asking if I have ideas about re-engaging and getting more involved with your communities. To that end, I'm pleased to announce a new partnership with Family-to-Family, a national organization that I have been part of for a year now. FTF, has some amazing outreach programs that align extremely well with this blog -- Birthday in a Box, Doorknob Dinner Project, One Book at a Time -- but today, I wanted to focus on Sponsor A Family, which can be summed up in one very simple sentence: Families with more give to families with less. Every month, the sponsor gives money towards another family's grocery bill (usually about $35) plus personal care items, or specific donations like soccer cleats or ballet shoes or Thanksgiving supplies requested through letters. When sponsoring within your own community, especially small ones, the giving is sometimes anonymous -- all I know about the family we sponsor is that the mom is single and struggling to support a six-year-old boy and four-year-old girl. Her ex-husband is in Turkey and has been unable to send any child support -- but I don't need to know more than that. It is a relatively small gesture that's making a big difference in helping someone get through some rough times. Pam Koner, a local hero in our community, started the program in her basement office after reading a New York Times series on poverty, and its a good reminder that when urgency, love, and community merge, some great things ensue. The program now helps families in twenty-seven communities nationwide.

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I'm hoping you can help, too. From now until Christmas, I'll be reminding everyone about the program, hoping to inspire a few of you to sponsor a family yourself. To sweeten the pot a bit: The first twenty-five people** to sign up will receive a free copy of any of my books -- your choice which one. (If you have all three, then, bless you, and we can talk about other options...my husband is a book editor, remember?) Once you register, email me your name (jenny@dinneralovestory.com) and the book you'd like (in case you are one of the top 25) and I will cross-check my list with Pam's. And feel free to SPREAD THE WORD. ***UPDATE 12/1: THANKS TO A VERY GENEROUS DONATION FROM RANDOM HOUSE, WE ARE INCREASING THE FREE BOOK OFFER TO ANOTHER 20 SPONSORS. SIGN UP TODAY AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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Thank you all for listening and have a wonderful holiday.