November Stack for a Cause – #stacktostophunger

Hey all! Lauren here, hope you are all well! I, like Mindy, took a little break from burnout/medical issues. I’m back though and looking forward to posting more, even if I just have to force it out. I hope you can look froward to my upcoming articles!

I’ve actually been helming the BAYOG Instagram (which you should totally follow if you haven’t already!!) and thus I have been looking around and following cool ani/manga/game/etc bloggers for ideas on how to make our Instagram look cool too. If you have any guides or tutorials send them my way! I’ll totally take any help I can get, I want to do a good job on the Instagram. Looking around this week, I noticed a few people we follow posting autumnal colored manga stacks and it caught my eye.

When looking further into it, the stacks are all part of a challenge going on in the book/manga communities put on by Melinda of a.uniquely.portable.magic. Every month, Melinda puts on a different “Stack for a Cause”, an Instagram challenge that has you stack your books in a certain color scheme. Every stack that tags the hashtag for this months challenge counts as $1 that Melinda and other supporters donate to their local charities, up to $100. That’s (at least) $1000 that goes to food banks this month! Which charity they choose is related to that month’s cause. This month, November, is for local food banks and the hashtag is #stacktostophunger. I will be pledging $6 (for each of us at BAYOG) to a local food bank, and I implore you to create your own stack, share the hashtag, and pledge to a food bank in your area as well if you have the means to! You can use this Feeding America website to find a local food bank near you: https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank

I spoke to Melinda about how she came to start the project and how it has grown since conception. In January she also saw some “Stack for a Cause” projects floating around on Instagram. Her project started with the hopes of raising awareness and fund important causes in a positive manner while having fun with the book stacks. Her first months were just her pledging, but in May she gained another supporter and since then there has been a steady increase. This months challenge has 11 other people pledging! Since her start, Melinda has been able to raise $2,500 for 8 different causes.

As well as being fun, the “Stack for a Cause” challenges are also a way for people to connect in a safe space. Last month in October, the challenge raised funds for charities related to Pregnancy and Infant Loss. Melinda shared that many people wrote about their own experiences, some stating that it was their first time publicly speaking about it, and the support people gave was beautiful. In her wrap up from last month, Melinda wrote:

“But more than the money we raised, we created a place in this corner of the Internet (and beyond) where people felt safe and courageous and vulnerable enough to share their stories (some of you for the first time publicly). You showed up. You said, “Me too.” You helped others feel seen and heard and their little ones remembered and honoured. And even if you’d never never experienced loss yourself, you showed support and compassion and love.

So thank you. For every stack, post, like, comment, share. Every candle lit. Every one who said “Please DM me if needed, you are not alone.” And every one of you who did connect beyond these posts.”

Here’s my stack!! I am now painfully aware of how little green and red manga covers I have. It makes sense I have so much yellow since it’s my favorite color!

From top to bottom:

Kizumonogatari: Wound Tale by Nisioisin from Kodansha, part of the Monogatari Series Box Set from Rightstuf

The Black Mage by Daniel Barnes and DJ Kirkland from Oni Press

Snotgirl Vol. 3: Is This Real Life? by Brian Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung from Image Comics

Dragon Ball Ch. 1 and Dragon Ball Super Ch 1. by Akira Toriyama promotional sample from… Anime Expo maybe?

Goodnight Punpun Vol 3 by Inio Asano from Viz Media

Nijigahara Holograph by Inio Asano from Fantagraphics Books

Inuyasha Vol. 1 by Rumiko Takahashi from Viz Media

Skip Beat Vol. 1 3-In-1 by Yoshiki Nakamura from Viz Media

Nekomonogatari (black) by Nisioisin from Nisioisin from Kodansha, part of the Monogatari Series Box Set from Rightstuf

Goodnight Punpun Vol. 1 by Asano Inio from Viz Media

Goodnight Punpun Vol. 4 by Asano Inio from Viz Media

Snotgirl Vol. 1 by Brian Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung from Image Comics

Snotgirl Vol. 2: California Screaming by Brian Lee O’Malley and Leslie Hung from Image Comics

I used to have a ton more manga but I ended up donating it to my home town’s library (RIP to my original almost complete Fruits Basket collection :,)) so my collection is a bit bare. I really want the My Hero Academia series, Chainsaw Man series, and Snow White with the Red Hair series. I’m also trolling around to try and find the Gals! series from CMX… 20 years out of print, pray for me.

If you make a stack, please tag us on Instagram so we can see! I will add $1 to my donation for everyone who tags us in their stack as well. I hope you are all well, please take care of yourself during this season! Try and get as much sun as you can, it really helps. See you next time!