Okay! So a LOT of you would love to write, which is awesome. And I haven't replied back to anyone, which is not awesome, but give me a little time to sort everything out, okay? You WILL hear back from me.
WE HAVE A NAME! I'm gonna save it for a surprise, but it's something someone suggested yesterday, and I think it's pretty cool. We're REGISTERING THE DOMAIN today, which makes me feel pretty important.
Here is, broken down a bit more, what we're going to focusing on:
1) The practical how-tos of surviving poverty.
I'd like a wide variety of voices here, and yes, lots of food posts. I'd like to eventually have a really good, searchable recipe section. Other posts on surviving poverty - budgeting, gardening, second-hand shopping - will be here, too.
2) Poverty experiences.
If you have grown up poor, experienced poverty in other countries, or if you are poor NOW, and would like to write about that. This can also be a place to write about misconceptions you have had about the poor, or experiences working with charities.
3) More academic stuff.
Perceptions of poverty in the media, how poverty effects health and weight, explorations of social policies... all things that I'm not qualified to write, so if you are EMAIL ME!
What we are not interested in is poverty tourism, or poverty as some ennobling force. Being poor sucks and I don't want to hear about how interesting it is to be poor or how you voluntarily opted for poverty because you just luv shabby chic furniture.
I have SUCH a cool guest post coming up tomorrow, so stay tuned for that.
And in the meantime, here is my 5 Minutes for Parenting post for today, which is still talking about weight issues but this time the ones that affect my kids. See you there, I hope!
21 comments:
What an exciting week and now I am motivated to try another new recipe this week!
Thank you for stating up front you're not going to be publishing 'poverty tourism' pieces. Poverty isn't interesting; it's devastating and damaging, especially for children.
My dad grew up dirt, dirt poor, the kind where he and his family frequently skipped their dingy, unheated apartments in the middle of the night because his parents couldn't pay the rent. The kind where he used to come to school in the winter barefoot as a little kid, and then literally pass out from hunger (my mom was a classmate of his; she remembers the horror of it.) Where his mother 'entertained' men for money, because they needed it. Where the parents were frequently both gone for extended periods (weeks and weeks) at a time, and social services finally stepped in and took his sister but left the four boys, aged 12 and under, to fend for themselves because they were boys.
'True Poverty' isn't funny and is something anyone who has a computer and gets to blog probably doesn't really know much about.
Hi Bek, I'm late to the party, so I'm going back a few posts to get caught up. :)
I can write something. Definitely. About how stupid people are when it comes to understanding someone else's financial situation....I'll send it to you (do I have your email somewhere?).
Oh shoot. I meant to comment on yesterday's post, but I forgot. I'd love to write some. Although, with a new little one and a big move on the way, i don't think I can commit to anything regular.
Hmm, what's my expertise...? Well, J and I married in college, had a baby our senior year and lived on $13k-$15k a year through our first four years of marriage as he completed undergrad and master's degrees.
As far as nutrition in particular, I have PCOS and fertility issues, so I've had to do a lot of research on fertility stimulating nutrition on a budget! There's a niche for ya :)
Your new site is a great idea.
As for your post at 5 Minutes for Parenting, all I can say is that your kids are lucky to have you in their corner. You can overcome a lot of "difference" when you know your mom thinks you're just fine the way you are. Kids sense that, and I think it helps define them.
I know my mother's feeling that I was a "great kid anyone would be proud of" helped define me.
=)
Yea!
You should get Alice from savorysweetlife.com to write for you/us. She's a food blogger who grew up poor. She recently participated in a hunger challenge where she had to shop for her family of five for week and feed them all week from that certain amount of money (Don't remember the amount, but it was low.)
Inspiring.
Could the experiences with poverty section include tips for helping/giving to others when you are not poor? You mentioned charity experience...maybe it could have a portion of helpful ideas for how to build up/encourage/feed people who are struggling. It would be a good place for people who want to make a difference but don't know how.
Right now I'm wondering, can one take fresh produce from their garden to a food bank or shelter? Some people complain because they have so much of one type of crop (Squash) and they don't know what to do with it. This seems like a waste to me. Not really on topic, just thinking...
p.s. I lived below the poverty line for a little while when I was first married, but my experience doesn't count because I had SO much support from family and friends. That's what makes me think that some of this could be helped by SHARING our abundance.
Best of luck with this, Beck! I know you are going to be great at organizing this and writing so that people will want to read and be excited to use your (and your contributors') advice.
Very awesome.
I think this is a great idea and I look forward to being able to use the resources. (We're pretty poor right now with my husband's business in rocky times, so we don't get a steady paycheck.)
you know i am ALL over this new website, right?!?! i know you probably have a lot of people wanting to contribute, but i would love to help if you need me as i pretty much have TONS to say on all of the topics you listed here. and i am no poverty romantic, believe me. but i have lots of stories about me being mad at those who are. :-)
I can't wait to see this.. we really try to eat organic and to avoid processed foods but as I get ready to go on mat leave in June and cut my income down to about 30% of what it is currently, I am struggling with how to eat the way I think is best for our family while also learning to cut costs.
Beck, there's a lot of material within that subject to work on. I think you're someone who can do good treatment to it, and help others to do so too.
Somewhere in there some of the class/poverty stuff ties into the whole perception versus reality thing.
I have numerous times in my life been on one level socio-economically and been around those on a vastly different level. My impressions from those experiences have repeatedly been that one side often really has little or no accurate perception of the realities of the other. Of course that's a generalization not taking individual's levels of awareness into account. Or maybe it does.
More on this as I remember and think on it.
A great idea!
I'd love to write something....maybe farther into spring?
Poverty isn't interesting; it's devastating and damaging, especially for children.
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it's devastating and damaging, especially for children.
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I take it Natalie Portman won't be doing a guest post?
I'll never forget reading this brilliant insight from Ms. Portman last fall: ""I think it's kind of an exciting time. I mean, everyone is cutting back. It's happening in every industry - including our own. All of a sudden, people are doing jobs that they hate and they're not making as much money as they thought they would or they've lost their jobs entirely. I've started to see people looking more toward their own passions and what really excites them."
Paying our bills on time is excites me. Finding 2 for 1 pork roasts on sale excites me. A coupon for FREE Diet Mt. Dew excites me (it's free...right?)
I read your post at 5 Minutes--heartbreaking! I'm excited to see this new site you've got in the works.
Hi Bek, just found your blog today- came here because "Frog and Toad are still Friends" is such an nostalgic and perfect blog title. THEN I saw you are starting another blog centered around some causes that NEED to be talked about- especially poverty. Don't know where you are at with gathering up writers, or how you are accepting guest posts, but I'd love to be a part of what you are beginning.
I served a year (2008) as an Ameri Corps VISTA because I wanted to DO SOMETHING and I wanted to start a legacy of volunteership for my (then)unborn son. The program's main goal is to bring awareness to poverty and help those in need by bringing resources and DIGNITY into their lives. Suffice it to say I learned a lot.
I part of the time, I now work at a non profit who's mission is to encourage a healthy community by providing substance free activities for youth. I deal with all sorts of things from alcohol/drug awareness, healthy eating, exercise, self awareness etc...
anyway, that's a bit of background. I started blogging because I have always enjoyed writing and I wanted to document life for my son. It's now turned into so much more than that.
I'm your newest follower :)
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