28 Days Below

Chaz Donovan is a passionate crusader against poverty. One day he hopes to destroy it, but he needs your help.

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - DAY 28!!!!

It started with a bowl, and so it ends with one.

This is the last of my veggies and noodles for a dinner that's about $1.00, plus the 2 slices of pita bread I had for breakfast and I am at $1.30 for my last day.

HUGE thank you's (seriously, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!) to all my family, friends, and followers who donated money and gave me loving words of support. Because of all of you we raised over $1,750 for The Hunger Project!!! And it's not too late to donate!! The Live Below the Line campaign raises funds until June 30th, so if you still want to chip in a few bucks, or even take a 5-day challenge of your own, do it!!

I hope at the very least I inspired you to seek out ways that you can make a positive impact on this planet while you're here.

It is never too late to do good things.

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 27:

A waaaay overstuffed Bell Pepper.

Total of about $0.60, daily total of $1.10 (so far; I am going to eat some peanuts later).

I have received so many donations today it's awesome! I am now so close to hitting my 3rd fundraising goal of $1,750!!! One more day left of my challenge, should we go for $2,000?!? Who's with me?!?

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 26:

I have had to ration my rice this week, and have only been getting half a cup instead of a full cup like before when I have rice dishes. Because of this my hunger pangs have returned. I have felt awful the last two days.

I am trying to quell the pangs tonight with a "big" dinner of 3 baked red potatoes topped with onions and jalapeño, some broccoli, and bread. Total cost is about $1.10, with a banana this morning I am at $1.35 for the day.

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 24:

More rice. More Veggies. Some bread.

$0.82

I'm asking everyone if they can donate at least $5, to do so today. It might not seem like much, but for someone living in extreme poverty it can help feed their entire family, it can put a child in school, or help grow a local business. So please consider that.

Thank you!

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 23:

I forgot my banana this morning, so today was rough. But that's ok because I have a surprise dessert for later.

Here's a rice bowl with potato, radish, green onion, and eggplant. This is about $0.70 worth of food that I have the privilege of eating as a challenge, and not because this is my life.

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 22:

Grilled Eggplant sub, with green onion, radish, and spinach. This is about $0.80 worth of food, along with my $0.24 apple this morning I am at $1.04 for the day. I'll probably have a few crackers or some peanuts later as a snack because I can "afford" to. I'm not always so lucky.

Have you donated yet?

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 21:

Fried rice with veggies. I slept most of the day after shopping. Just don't have the energy to do much else.

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

Last shopping trip for my last week of living ‪‬below the line!! I have been lucky enough to have this low cost market "near" me. Others aren't so lucky. It's 3.5 miles away and as part of my personal challenge, I walked (7 miles) for all my shopping trips. It was raining today so that sucked, but I survived. I also forgot my reusable bag, so $0.10 of this is for a bag. All total I came under my $42.00 shopping budget for 28 days by $0.27 (or $0.37 if you don't count the bag)

I know this challenge can never really make me feel what it is like to live in extreme poverty, but it did impact my perspective on what chronic hunger can do to a person.

My one hope in doing this for as long as I have, is that I inspired people to take action on an issue that has a solution. On a problem that gets better with every kindhearted soul who pledges to do something about it. Not just for a week. Not just as a fad charity to support. But as a lifetime commitment to be a better person, to care for your neighbors (locally and abroad), and to be a driving force for change.

If you can't donate, I challenge you to ‪Live Below The Line‬ for 5 days and reach out to your friends and family and inspire others. The official challenge starts this Monday! Are you in?

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 20:

An exciting plate of rice, topped with potato, squash, mushroom, and onion. All told, today I ate $1.32 worth of food.

Today is ‪#‎FundraisingFriday‬ for ‪#‎LiveBelowTheLine‬, so I would appreciate it if you would consider chipping in a few bucks to the cause. I know 1.2 billion people who will appreciate it more.

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 19:

I am tired. I just make food. Whatever I can for about $1.00, whatever I can that gets me through the next day. I have 9 days left of my challenge, but I am fighting through this for the 1.2 billion people who face this challenge their whole life.

Help me, help others.

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 18:

Happy Earth Day!!

My energy has been at an all-time low today. People at work noticed. Someone said I am the shell of the man I was. But I am sticking with it. I am 10 days from finishing one of the most challenging things I have done in my life, and I am going hard.

The Earth and its climate are undoubtedly linked to the issues of hunger and poverty. For Earth Day, I want you to know that by supporting The Hunger Project‬ we are supporting a better future for the Earth AND its inhabitants alike, by teaching sustainable and environmentally friendly farming techniques to the communities we aim to raise out of poverty.

Help us do something great.

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 17:

Eggplant Fettuccine with a Green Bell Pepper "sauce" (just some blended bell pepper pieces). It's hard enough eating on less than $1.50 a day, it's something else to try to make my dishes look good enough to draw in viewers and hopefully new donors to the cause.

It's not really working as I had hoped. Can you help change that?

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 16:

I went to the movies tonight but ate this before I went. It's about 75 cents worth of food. At the movies I watched everyone pay $20 or more for popcorn, drinks, and candy.

Twenty dollars. That's half my below the line budget for these 28 days. It really makes you think about what we take for granted. The privileges we have living where we do.

I received a few more awesome donations today from some awesome people! Want to join them?

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 15:

I slept in as much as possible until my stomach voiced its displeasure, then I got up and ate a single banana.

Tonight I ate this plate of fettuccine pasta. It looks like a lot. It feels like a lot. For about an hour, that is, and then I am hungry again. My body is crying out for sustenance, for everything it has been missing the last two weeks.

I'm doing this for the bodies that have been crying out their whole life. Help me.

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 14:

Officially at the halfway mark of my challenge to eat and drink below the extreme poverty line. To mark the occasion I made these pizzas for less than $1.

Help me help others rise above.

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 13:

We need your help, plain and simple.

http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio

[28daysbelow-blog-blog]

28 Days Below - Day 12 (posted a day late): I can't believe I have ate and drank on less than $1.50 a day for twelve days so far; but I can't believe even more that 1.2 billion men, women, and children in this world do it their whole life. Not by choice, but because they have none. Let's change that. The Hunger Project aims to lift communities out of poverty by giving them the education and tools they need to rise above the poverty line. You know what to do. http://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/chazio