Eat in, Help Out - MDG (1/2 Way Point)

On Saturday, July 7th, we will be at the halfway point of the time frame set for acheiving the Millennium Development Goals. To mark this day, Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation is sponsoring "Eat In to Help Out" -- a national night with friends and family that will help us reflect on the MDGs while building community, both in our own homes and abroad.

And it's as easy as doing something you'd love to do anyway on a summer's eve -- have some friends over for dinner!
Here's how you do it:

STEP 1 - Instead of going out to eat, invite your friends to come
over to your apartment or house one evening. Ask them to bring the money they would normally spend going out to eat.

STEP 2 - Enjoy a great meal together, using some simple resources EGR will provide to have a discussion about global poverty and the MDGs.

STEP 3 - Take the money you would have spent "eating out" and "help out" - give it somewhere to help make the MDGs happen. You can give online to Episcopal Relief & Development find a microfinance project on www.kiva.org, give to something you're already involved in - it's your choice.

STEP 4 - Get on the map. Once you've decided to host a party, put yourself on our online map, and let us know you'll be doing it. After your group has made their gift, log into our other online map and record:

-Where the dinner was (e.g. San Francisco)
-How many attended (e.g. 7)
-How much money was raised (e.g. $120)
-Where the money was given (e.g. through Kiva to a project in Kenya)

Check back and see how we all did!

When we're all done we'll have a big map of all the places that"ate in," all the places in the world that were "helped out" and arunning total of diners and how much money we raised. Not a bad
night's (or week's) work!

If you can't do it on Saturday, July 7 -- don't sweat it. We'd love everyone to host meal sometime during the week of July 1-7, but if you can't do it then, do it some other time! The idea is for these dinners is to be a low-key way to engage people one on one with the MDGs. They don't have to be fancy and you don't have to make a formal presentation! Do whatever works for you and your friends. You can invite friends who are already working with the MDGs, or people who have never heard of them before.

For more information, visit here.