Hurricane Sandy disrupted the lives of many citizens of the United States. Many have been without power for more than 12 days.

The holidays are here. People in unaffected areas are planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Most have less money than they'd hoped for at this time of year. They want to help the hurricane survivors, but want to make sure they can still get Christmas and other holiday presents as their budget allows.

Is it possible to do both?

I argue that the answer is yes.

The Background

Did you know that Pampered Chef has decided to donate more than $350,000 in products that were requested by Feeding America? Since Pampered Chef doesn't seek the publicity that other people and groups do in times like this, this is probably the first you've heard of it.

You're probably saying that this amount isn't very much for a large corporation owned by Warren Buffet. However, this is not all they've pledged to do.

Pampered Chef has decided to have a fundraiser show called “American Red Cross - Sandy Fund." From this fundraiser show, Pampered Chef will donate up to 15% of the proceeds. Then, they'll match it.

In order for Pampered Chef to donate 15%, the show must exceed $600 in guest sales. Less than that, Pampered Chef will donate 10%, then match it. Given the number of people in the United States, $600 should be easy to surpass.

So, what am I asking people to do?

I am asking that people look at the Pampered Chef catalog and order the products that they would have bought for friends, family, colleagues, school teachers, clergy, themselves, etc. Stick with the budget that would have been used if the fundraiser had not existed.

Orders will be sent directly to the person, or people, designated during the ordering process. People who need to send to multiple addresses will need to order separately for each individual address.

Then, spread the word. Let people know about this fundraiser. As a nation, we can each get our Christmas wish lists and know that our purchase will be used to help those who are suffering from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

How do I know that this is a legitimate fundraiser for Hurricane Sandy Victims or the Red Cross?

One way to know that the site is the authorized fundraising site is to look for the American Red Cross - Sandy Fund near the upper right side of the screen. Also, Pampered Chef's online shopping sites contain their name followed by ".biz" with a variety of codes after the forward slash (/), depending on what part of their site you are visiting at the time.

Anything else, you're probably visiting the wrong site.

One last note: If you have any questions about the fundraiser, please leave them in the comments section below. I'm anxious to assist Pampered Chef's efforts to raise awareness about this fundraiser.