Vegan Caramels for a Cause

My name is Melodi Brooke Donahue, and  I have spent the better part of my life in a kitchen, up to my elbows in the best kinds of messes, determined to create something wonderful for others to enjoy.  My company; Obsessive Confection Disorder is the embodiment of my passion for satisfying the world’s sweet tooth.  It is my heart’s desire to make great candy, AND a difference, every chance I get.

My Grama taught me that feeding people is an honor, never to be taken lightly.  That’s why I craft kinder, gentler sweets using 100% natural, cootie free ingredients. I embrace fair trade practices, and seek out local elements to incorporate into my confections as much as humanly possible. My gardens are the source for most of my produce, but I also shop farmer’s markets, and forage through the gardens of friends and family.

By “Kinder, Gentler Sweets”, I mean: Everything I make is 100% Vegan & Gluten Free. Kind to the animals and gentle on the tummy.  The only cruelty here is perpetrated by folks who deny themselves the simple pleasure of enjoying some wicked good candy. That's just plain mean. 

My candy is humbly packaged and proudly presented in unbleached parchment paper, compostable cellophane bags & boxes, and recycled labels & ribbons.  The only footprint I want to leave in this world is on the hearts of those who enjoy my confections.

Making candy puts a big smile on my face, but sharing it and using my culinary skills to help support animal rescue efforts, puts a song in my heart.

Albert Schweitzer said: “Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.”

Well, I think about it all the time. That’s why I donate much of my proceeds to an array of organizations that help me believe there just might be hope for us all.

I follow every detail of Farm Sanctuary rescues and Animal Rescue Corps’ Compassion in Action.  I sob because I can’t adopt every beagle saved by the Beagle Freedom Project.  I yearn to sail against whaling with Captain Paul and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

I think about all those animal rights videos that most of us can’t bear to watch, and I am in AWE of the people who have the strength to soldier on in situations where most of us would crumble to the ground in tears.

I know I don’t have what it takes for ‘hands on’ field work, so I do what I can to hopefully make their lives a little sweeter, as well as share some of what I make to support their selfless efforts.

My Mantra:

“Go into the world and do well, but more importantly, go into the world and do good” Minor Myers Jr

In order to keep ‘doing good’ - I need Automation and Help!

Currently, I make sweet magic in a bright & wonderful kitchen teeming with positive energy, every other weekend for 20 hour stints.

On the stovetop, I can make 36 lbs. of caramel in 20 hours – That’s 12 cases of caramel bars – barely enough to fill retail orders, leaving little for online customers, and not nearly enough for donations!

But … If I had the FM-14 Table-top cooker/mixer, a full-featured cooker that will make easy work of cooking my caramel,  toffee, fudge, and any other confection I ever want to make in my entire life, I could make 150 lbs in 20 hours!  That’s 50 cases of caramel bars!  More than four times what I am currently able to pull off.  It’s a one-person cooker, allowing me to do it all without calling for help to lift a heavy pot or pour into pans or molds.  AND it keeps the kitchen cooler so my MS doesn’t scold me for working too hard.  Heat + MS = all bad.

I will still ‘imagineer’ the flavor profiles and name the products, develop the recipes, shop, harvest, forage and barter for the ingredients, order the packaging supplies, maintain the inventory records, cut the unbleached parchment into those charming squares that keep it in shape til you enjoy it, design the labels and packaging, wrap the caramels by hand to preserve the slight imperfections that make it homemade, and generally ensure that you have the best confectionery experience of your life every time you indulge in a sweet from Obsessive Confection Disorder.

I just need a little automation for the cooking part and the supplementary materials to handle the increase in production.

If I Reach My Goal, I Will Be Able To:

• Purchase the aforementioned magic machine that makes caramel for the masses  (Approx $8700)

• Order more molds to hold all this newly made caramel (Approx $400)

• Order a supply of preprinted and sized labels & packaging to get the caramel, et al ready for sharing with you (Approx $1900)

Hire a few extra hands to help me fill all the orders that I’ve had to turn away because I never had enough time to get everything done by myself  (Approx $3500)

Order some staple ingredients in bulk – leaving extra time for carameling  (Approx $2500)

If I Do Not Reach My Goal:

I will use whatever funds I DO raise toward the purchase of the hot cooker, as well as additional molds.  ANYTHING will help, and I will squeal with joy every time someone takes the time to read my campaign and make a comment and/or donation :-)

If I Surpass My Goal:

I would use the additional funds to pay for more time in the kitchen, enabling me to make more caramel to sell to more nice people and make more money to help more cows, piggies, chickens, goats, ducks, sheep, geese, horses, tigers, elephants, lions, dogs, cats, whales, dolphins, rabbits, gorillas, chimpanzees, etc.   Also, more breasts and kidneys.  (I donate to human organizations, too).

YOUR IMPACT BY SUPPORTING

By supporting this campaign, you are partnering to help the world become a sweeter place for people and animals alike.

 Think about it: We have the opportunity to make candy and a difference in one fell swoop!  How cool is that?!

1. You’ll get to enjoy the most badass sweets you’ll ever taste.  Hey – it’s not arrogant if you can back it up.

2. You’ll be awash with a sense of peace and purpose, knowing that your contribution made it possible for me to up my production enough so that I can share more with animal rescue organizations.

3. You will have helped to empower a passionate, creative, philanthropic, differently-abled woman, toward realizing her dream:  Creating small things with big love for good hearted folks to enjoy. 

Even if you aren’t of a mind or position to donate financially, just spreading the word about my campaign will help tremendously!  Facebook!  Twitter!  Pinterest!  Blogs!  

Thank you all to pieces for any support you provide!

xoxo

Mel