Click for Bri: A little ray of sunshine

A little ray of sunshine: Lemon Berry Cooler
taken with Nikon D50 fixed 50 mm prime lens.

This is an appeal on behalf of a group of food bloggers who are friends of Briana Brownlow @ Figs With Bri.

Bri was diagnosed with breast cancer two and half years ago. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and two years of relatively good health later, the cancer is back. It has metastasized to other parts of her body. At the age of 15, Bri lost her 41-year old mother to the disease. Now, she’s waging her own war against breast cancer. More about it here.

She is going through intensive chemo and other treatments and needs to focus single-mindedly on healing and finding what treatment works best for her. Her health insurance, unfortunately, does not cover holistic alternatives which she would like to try. Bri and her husband Marc have enough on their plates right now in addition to worrying about her medical bills.

The team organising the JUNE edition of CLICK at Jugalbandi has organised a fundraiser to help Bri and her family meet her out-of-pocket medical costs for ONE YEAR.

CLICK is a monthly theme-based photography contest hosted by Jugalbandi. This month’s theme is: YELLOW for Bri

Yellow is the colour of hope. Through the work of the LiveStrong Foundation, it has also come to signify the fight against cancer.

The entries can be viewed HERE. The deadline for entries is June 30, 2008. The fundraiser will extend until July 15, 2008.

The target amount is 12,000 U.S. dollars. We appeal to our fellow bloggers and readers to help us achieve this. Bri deserves a chance to explore all options, even if her insurance company thinks otherwise.

There’s a raffle with exciting prizes on offer. After viewing the list, you may make your donation HERE or at the Chip-In button on any participating site. Your donation can be made securely through credit card or Pay Pal and goes directly to Bri’s account. This month’s photo contest also has some prizes. Details HERE.

You can support this campaign by donating to the fundraiser, by participating in CLICK: the photo event, and by publicising this campaign.

I had not been to Bri's site before Bee and Jai's outreach efforts and I fell instantly in love with her style of writing and yummy recipes including an ecstatic rose - vanilla ice cream that I ought to try soon! My click entry this month is a simple cooler created with all the hope and cheer possible for her fast recovery. So, Bri here is a cooler to give you and your family a little ray of hope for a better tomorrow.

Lemon Berry Cooler ~ Serves 2 on a Warm Summer afternoon

• Handful of blueberries
• Handful of raspberries
• 1 lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• A pinch of salt
• 1 to 2 teaspoons honey or sugar
• Ice
• 1/2 Cup Water

Method:
Slice lemon in half, sliver couple of slices of lemon for garnish and squeeze rest of juice into a tall blending jar or container. Crush berries into the lemon, add rest of ingredients and mix thoroughly. Strain cooler into 2 glasses, garnish with lemon and berries if desired, drink right away.

Wishing Briana all the best and of course, a big thank you to the organizers of her fundraiser, the judges for click and raffle donations. What a great grassroots way of helping someone in the community! Never cease to be amazed..

Verdict: We really enjoyed this drink and I think adding carbonated sparkling water would have enhanced this drink. The healing properties of ginger along with the blueberries anti-oxidant qualities make this a healthy drink.