September 7, 2010

Holding a Bake Sale for Pakistan

Anna Pulley

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Pakistan’s floods are the worst disaster the country has ever weathered, and the UN has said it is worse in terms of impact than Haiti and the 2004 tsunami put together. Twenty million people are homeless or displaced and yet, donations for flood relief are way down. Hearing stories about conditions in the displacement camps, especially problems faced by children, made me want to give. I don’t have a lot of money, but I am a pretty good baker, so that’s why I’m holding a bake sale today at the Mother Jones office to benefit flood victims. A few other employees joined me, and we made dozens of cookies, moist zucchini bread, and a peach-raspberry cobbler. There’s also apple coffee cake, brandy ginger cheesecake, and quinoa cupcakes with fig compote, just to name a few treats. Thanks to our generous employees and building tenants, the sale raised more than $100 in the first hour alone, and donations will be matched up to $500. All proceeds from our bake sale are going to UNICEF’s special children’s fund for Pakistan, or to Merlin, a secular, medical NGO working in the hardest-hit areas. Since you can’t enjoy the baked goods, enjoy some pictures of them, below.

disclaimer: bake sale is not an official Mother Jones event. It is a personal fundraiser.

Bluberry “scuffins” (muffin/scones)

Quinoa cupcakes with fig compote and Greek yogurt frosting

Zucchini bread and brandy ginger cheesecake


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Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

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And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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