Sept 20, 2024
Hi all!
My last update was 9 months ago & SO MUCH has happened in that “short” time, it seems like an entire lifetime ago.
I apologize for not posting more updates here – but it is actually a bit intentional. I don’t post here often because I assume everyone who has donated here is on our email list and / or following on social media – and I figure you probably don’t want to be bombarded with information over here if you are already following everything on another channel!
For anyone who is an exception to the above I will briefly share a few things…
#1.) COLLABORATIONS / NEWS
Since I posted last, the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC has been written up in Consumer Reports TWICE (!) and a third “collab” with Consumer Reports is potentially in the works (I am meeting with their team next Wednesday!) Please check out all of our press and interviews over the past 9 months! Link here: https://tamararubin.com/press/
#1.a.) AMERICAN IDOL
Mama brag: my two oldest sons were on American Idol in February! If you did not see it – here’s the link:
https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-now/news/the-rubin-brothers-bring-circus-spectacle-to-american-idol
#2.) LABORATORY FOOD TESTING
We dove head-first into food testing (using a laboratory for ppb readings of Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, and Arsenic) in March of this year – thanks to a generous collaborative partnership and donation of laboratory testing from Simple Lab.
In March we tested six items, and in April / May we tested eight items. Things have kindof just snowballed since then! This month (September 2024) we will be testing over 60 foods and supplements! Since March, Simple Lab has been donating the testing of eight foods per month, and the Lead Safe Mama community is chipping in to cover the cost of testing and reporting for the rest!
A few important links:
This is a landing page with links to all of the articles related to food testing that we have published so far:
Here’s every link to Lead Safe Mama, LLC’s food testing articles in one place!
This is a landing page with links to all of the safer foods we have found so far (foods that have tested “non-detect” for the four toxicants we have tested for:
This is a spreadsheet (updated periodically) that has all of the food testing we have completed as well as all of the testing that is pending:
Food Testing Fundraising Campaigns Update — All Batches of Lead Safe Mama, LLC Food Testing (2024)
This is an article that talks about how we are doing this, how we are funding this (the expense budget for each campaign), and how you can nominate a food for testing:
How to test food yourself (via a lab submission) for Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic, and Mercury
#3. ) This GOFUNDME, goal, debt, status report
This GoFundMe campaign was launched on February 19, 2017.
That’s a long time ago!
As a result of the legal attacks on this work over the past 8 years we have accrued a debt (related either directly or indirectly to these false attacks that attempted to shut down this advocacy work) of $270,000. There have actually been about $350,000 in related expenses total and we have been able to pay off about $80,000 of that – in large part thanks to funds raised through this campaign. $270,000 is the remaining debt we have at this time (September 2024).
The $33,045 that has been raised to date here (across the 8 calendar years this campaign has been active – so about $4,130 in support per year since it was launched) has been incredibly helpful during very difficult and dark times. YOU can take credit – YOU are the reason the reach and impact of the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC is thriving and growing.
At this time we are focused on trying pay back the above debt through earned income (earned by the business) while also focusing our attention on growing and expanding the scope and impact of the childhood Lead-poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety advocacy work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC (expansion which is currently happening with velocity – in large part thanks to the food testing we have been doing since March!)
As a result, I have decided to raise the “goal” of this GoFundMe campaign today (September 20, 2024 – Friday) to $100,000 – as reaching that goal would help us pay off a good part of the $270,000 in debt related to our Federal Civil Rights case, so we can move on from this chapter. I wanted to let you know about this change (and explain the reasoning) so you would not be surprised if you came across it on your own.
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At the rate things are going, it would take about 17 years to reach this goal 🙂 – but I thought it would be good to put this goal out there (just in case someone could help with a larger gift because they have the means). In the meantime, we will keep working to increase the earnings of the business so we can hopefully pay off all of this debt with earned income from the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC (chipping away at things as we have been doing over the past couple of years!)
#4.) AMAZING NEWS EVERYONE!
The incredible news is that we are approaching 5,000,000 page views for the year on the website. This is therefore our BEST EVER year for reach and impact – (we have interacted with / shared information with at least 2,500,000 people so far this year – and likely more!)
#5.) The Simplest Way to continue to support this work:
The MOST FINANCIALLY IMPACTFUL thing you can do to support this work right now is to help boost our earned income bottom line by doing any Amazon shopping that you were already planning on doing starting first with a click on a Lead Safe Mama, LLC affiliate link. You don’t need to buy what we link to for us to receive a percentage of what you spend (at no extra cost to you) – you only need to start any shopping you were already planning on doing by first clicking on a Lead Safe Mama affiliate link.
This makes a much bigger difference than people may realize!
To inspire you to click – here are a bunch of affiliate links. These are the ELEVEN food items we have tested so far that tested non-detect for toxicants (check the website to read the article about each item so you can see the low threshold of detection for each lab report).
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Sea Salt (Oregon, USA)
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/4dcbk5L
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Organic Einkorn Flour (Italy)
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3LIqxix
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Organic, Gluten-Free, Sprouted Rolled Oats (Canada)
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3WIQ1BN
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Organic, Non-GMO, Gluten-Free Chia Seeds (Mexico)
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3YvE7xC
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Organic Espresso Roast Ground Coffee (Multi-Country Origin, Non-USA)
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3yo1eiL
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Sparkling Grape-Flavored Tonic
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/4cjFYZu
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Pure Organic Layered Fruit Bars in Strawberry Banana Flavor
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3WQEekA
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Pure Organic Layered Fruit Bars in Raspberry Lemonade Flavor
Amazon link (sold in a box assortment, we haven’t found these sold separately): https://amzn.to/3XcFsIp
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GoGo Squeez Organic Fruit On The Go in AppleApple Flavor
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3XhWYLe
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Organic Soy Milk
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/4dwev8l
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Organic Hemp Seeds
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/4e05RP9
Thank you all for all of the support over the years.
I wouldn’t be here without you.
Tamara
Photo of my sons – just for fun
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