Babies Need Food Foundation

We interrupt our usual stream of Disney-related rambling and ranting to talk about, well, something really important.

My brother Al and his wife Anita have recently started a foundation to feed hungry children in Anita’s home country of India. On their website, Babies Need Food, they write:

On July 3, 2005, we gave birth to our beloved daughter, Angelina. We quickly discovered that when Angelina is hungry, her crying and desperation to eat is unbearable to listen to, even for a second. As we witnessed the intense desperation for food of our own little girl, we started thinking about all the babies in my home country of India, and how many of them go without proper nutrition during their first 2 years. Many fathers and mothers just don’t have enough money to provide an adequate nutritious diet for their babies. And many infants are left crying in their hunger.

At this point we knew we had to do something for some of the infants in India.

Yes, there are plenty of organizations working to feed the hungry, and to improve the national infrastructures of countries with high proportions of hungry people. So why am I asking you to support this one in particular? Because it’s personal. Because I see the pictures and hear the stories of my brother and his family visiting Chennai to distribute food to other families. Because it’s a small, family-run charity with zero overhead expenses. Because my nieces are growing up making regular visits to India to distribute food and clothes. Because I know there are more families asking for support than Babies Need Food can currently help.

Anita and Alan [. . .] made a personal commitment to financially support 50 mothers with infants. The supplies were purchased from vendors in India. Ministers from various congregations were requested to locate mothers and infants in need.

Well, as with most good works, the need overwhelms the resources! The day after the initial distribution to the 50 infants, 67 more mothers with infants arrived, seeking help! And the number of infants needing nutritional support continues to grow.

Please consider making a contribution of any size. It costs $8 to support one child for one month – about the same cost as a couple Dole Whip Floats! At this time that so many of us are excited about going to Walt Disney Word during the Free Dining promotion, maybe we can appreciate our own good fortune and pass along some pixie dust to another family.

If you have questions about Babies Need Food, please contact Al and Anita through email at info@babiesneedfood.org . I know they will appreciate hearing from you.

What’s Your Excuse for Missing Magic Meet 2007?

This weekend’s Magic Meet in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania looks like a tremendous amount of fun! Sometimes it does indeed sound like everybody who is anybody in our geeky little Disney fan community will surely be there. Mike Scopa is the keynote speaker . . . were I going to be in the audience, I’d surely have to wear my Scopa Towers t-shirt.

But I have an excellent excuse for missing the event. No, it’s not just because the event’s sold out. It’s also that I’ll be walking around the Hartford Convention Center, dressed like an oversized Rockhopper penguin. It would seem I won’t be alone there . . . a few others might join me. If you’re one of those wacky people, and you see somebody’s mom cosplaying PenPen, I think you can be pretty sure that’s me. Come say hello.

As Disney Grows in India, What Will Become of MGM Dizzy World?

There’s been plenty in the media lately about Disney’s increasing presence in India, and the likelihood of a theme park there in the future. Just today, Yahoo! News reported that Disney’s getting ready to announce a joint venture with India’s Yash Raj Films.

All of which makes me wonder, what the heck’s gonna happen to MGM Dizzy World? Wikipedia explains MGM Dizzy World in an article on Chennai tourism:

Spread over 27 acres, this theme park offers joy rides, food stalls and other games. It features one of the first roller coaster rides of Chennai. On the softer side, you have the dashing car drives, and the swimming pool with its water slides.

Now, it’s close to impossible to find detailed information online about this park, let alone many visitor reviews. But to read the review of MGM Dizzy World by Deepa Ravi of Boloji.com, it doesn’t sound likely that MGM Dizzy World could possibly give The Mouse a run for the money. Still, given the name, there could be some interesting copyright and intellectual property issues as Disney continues to expand its presence. I for one will stay tuned.