A Thanksgiving Bribe

Let's look at some statistics on this Day Before Thanksgiving, shall we? I promise I'll try very hard not to bore you and at the end is a bribe that might make wading through all this worthwhile. Pinky swear promise.

One reservation - the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota to be precise.

1) Home to over 40,000 Oglala Sioux Native Indians
2) The average life expectancy of a male living on the reservation is 47 years.
3) The infant mortality rate is 5 times the national average.
4) The unemployment rate is approximately 80%.
5) The average income ranges between $2,600 and $3,500 per year.

One granny square -

1) Approximately 35 yards of worsted weight yarn.
2) 5 rounds of crochet.
3) 30 minutes to make.
4) 42 cents to mail.

One group on Ravelry -

1) Afghan Squares For Pine Ridge Reservation
2) 78 members
3) Founded November 2008

One bribe -

1) Click 1 button to join our group by midnight PST, November 30th.
2) Be entered to win a $25 gift certificate to either Webs or Elann.com, whichever you prefer.

Please note - you DO NOT need to make a square to be entered in this contest. Of course, it would be wonderful if you could but what I really want is for people to be aware. Aware that this travesty is going on in the richest country in the world. Aware that elderly people are dying of hypothermia in their own homes. That people are still using wood stoves to heat their homes. That this is happening now, on the Day Before Thanksgiving.