introducing a fund for jennie, #afundforjennie

Many of you know that I was in New York City recently, visiting a friend of mine whose husband died suddenly and unexpectedly.  He was spending time with one of his daughters when he felt he needed a moment to rest. And then he just…died.

By going to New York, I did what so many who know Jennie wanted to do – not  because I’m any better friend, or a more thoughtful or generous person. It just worked out that I could go, I felt like I needed to, and my husband encouraged me to listen to my heart. So I did.

I thank Sam for my being able to be with Jennie during that first week after Mikey died.

jennie and mikey (photo courtesy of jennifer perillo)

Besides being an incredible mother, Jennie is a freelance food writer and recipe developer. Mikey worked very hard so that Jennie could pursue her dream of working from home as a writer. He worked hard so that Jennie and their daughters, Isabella and Virginia, would be taken care of for years to come.

The stories Jennie told me of Mikey – his work ethic, his love for his family, his values – struck a chord with me. Mikey reminds me so much of my Sam.

Jennie is learning to live as a single mother, a widow, and it’s not an easy path. Besides the loss, the utter and complete loss of her true love and best friend, she’s now struggling with bills and and the mortgage and health insurance – things that it took two people to cover before.

I’d like to help again, in a different way this time. So many of us want to help her in this “new normal” that she’s learning to live with. Life without Mikey. And with these bills pouring in.

You can help too.

Some other dear friends of Jennie have helped create #afundforjennie so that donations can be collected for her, and for her little girls, Isabella and Virginia.

If your heart moves you to do so, please consider donating for Jennie and her daughters.

Donate to Bloggers Without Borders

Clicking the button above will take you straight through to PayPal where you can donate to Bloggers without Borders for Jennie.

Bloggers without Borders is a charity that was founded by Maggie Keet of ThreeManyCooks, Erica Pineda-Ghanny of Ivory Hut, and Aimee Wimbush-Bourque of Simple Bites.

And thank you.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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6 Responses to “introducing a fund for jennie, #afundforjennie”

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    Aimee @ Simple Bites — August 22, 2011 @ 6:42 am

    Thank you so much for joining us in #afundforjennie, MJ. I’m so glad you were able to be there for Jennie during that first week. Of course, you’re continuing to support her and it shows. (hugs)

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    Wendy Read - Sunchowder — August 22, 2011 @ 7:25 am

    Beautiful effort for Jennie. Aimee, Erica and Maggie you are angels in this world.

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    Paula — August 22, 2011 @ 8:48 am

    Baking #apieformikey was one way we could all show our support for Jennie and her girls. BWOB is a means now by which we can all do a little something to help and collectively, make a big difference in the months to come. Thank you for this post.

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    Rachel @ Not Rachael Ray — August 22, 2011 @ 11:01 am

    Beautiful post. I donated and also posted on my blog. Jennie is very blessed to have you as a friend!

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    Carol Bryant — August 22, 2011 @ 4:10 pm

    I’m not a blogger, but I am a fan and follower of many of the amazing members of the blogging food community.

    Personally I’ll be making a donation. I also would like to offer to do a fundraiser. I’m a Pampered Chef consultant and as such do a lot of fundraisers for all sorts of good causes.

    If the food blogging community would like to particpate it would be my priviledge to set up a webbased Pampered Chef Catalog show as a fund raiser, and I would like to donate 100% of my commision as well.

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    Wanda — August 24, 2011 @ 6:36 pm

    It’s so sweet what you are doing for Jennifer and her girls. I have 2 little girls as well and also married my very best friend. My heart breaks for Jen! I’ll be checking out the donation link and will be spreading the word as much as I can.
    Hugs to you and God bless you!

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