It’s May! Hooray!

While May is notable for all manner of spring-like things, did you know that it is also Celiac Awareness Month? Tis true!

If you just said, “Celiac A-what?” to yourself, allow me to explain. Folks with celiac disease have trouble digesting gluten, a protein commonly found in wheat, rye, and barley. In fact, for them, consumption of gluten causes inflammation in the small intestine and ultimately makes it hard for them to absorb nutrients from food. It can cause many unpleasant symptoms, and in general is just not fun at all! According to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, “Celiac disease affects 3 million Americans, yet 95% of sufferers don’t know they have it.”

Jeanne knows a lot about the gluten-free scene!

There is not yet a cure for celiac disease, but luckily there is effective treatment: a gluten-free diet! And there are lots of great resources out there to help folks find tasty and innovative ways to stick to that diet. For example, our gum chum Jeanne “Bean” Murdock was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1995 and has been consulting on the condition and diet ever since. Owner of BEANFIT HEALTH AND FITNESS SERVICES, Jeanne recently launched the first health and fitness radio show and column for people with celiac disease and others interested in learning more about maintaining a gluten-free diet. Check out her website for more info and ideas!

Now, you know as an illustrated mascot I can never resist a shameless plug. So hope you won’t mind my closing with a li’l reminder that Glee Gum is gluten-free, too! Can I get a woo hoo? Ah. Thank you.

Earth Day is TODAY. Hooray!

It’s a great, green annual occasion, with lots of celebratory events happening all over the country. Here are a few places to be sure to swing by… and to grab some free Glee Gum samples, while you’re at it! Plus, some upcoming anniversaries and fairs that are sure to be Glee-ful!

Earth Day Events @ Lovey’s Natural Foods & Café ~ April 22nd & 23rd, 2011 ~ Wilmington, NC

Earth Day Events @ Organic Marketplace ~ April 22nd, 2011 ~ Gastonia, NC

Earth Day Events @ Roanoke Natural Foods Coop ~ April 23rd, 2011 ~ Roanoke, VA

Earth Day Events @ Nutrition S’Mart ~ April 23rd, 2011 ~ Palm Beach Gardens, FL

5th Anniversary Event Celebration @ Home Eco ~ April 23rd, 2011 ~ St. Louis, MO

Celiac Walk-A-Thon @ Jamesville Beach Park ~ April 30th, 2011 ~ Syracuse, NY

Inman Park Festival @ Inman Park ~ April 30th – May 1st, 2011 ~ Atlanta, GA

35th Anniversary Celebration @ Harmony Farms ~ April 30th, 2011 ~ Raleigh, NC

East Farm Spring Festival @ URI East Farm ~ May 7th, 2011 ~ Kingston, RI

Holistic Health Fair @ Back to Basics Natural Foods ~ June 11th, 2011 ~ East Greenwich, RI

Have fun, gum chums! And don’t forget to tell us if you buy some Glee– so we can plant a tree!

Give me a “T”! Give me an “R”! Give me a double “E”! What’s that spell?

No, really. What’s that spell?

Hey, I’m just an illustrated mascot. I don’t spell. But I do celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day, both of which are coming up soon! Do you know that it’s also the International Year of Forests, as declared by the United Nations General Assembly? What better time to consider taking better care of our leafy friend, the tree!

Here at Verve, inc., we turn to trees for two key ingredients in Glee Gum. We make our gum base with chicle, the sustainably harvested sap of Mexican sapodilla trees, and we sweeten our new Sugar-Free Glee with xylitol, extracted from birch trees. And we want to invest in keeping forests fertile for years to come. Join us!

Every time you buy a pack of Glee Gum and register the purchase at GleeGum.com/trees, we will plant a tree. We’ll send you a nifty certificate of thanks, too! Our super swell partner in this tree planting program is Trees for the Future, an agroforestry resource center focused on bringing sustainable land management programs to developing countries.

We are also proud to support other tree planting organizations in their upcoming (and exciting!) Earth Day and Arbor Day events, including:

Casey Trees ~ Washington, DC

Goleta Valley Beautiful ~ Goleta, CA

Greenscape of Jacksonville ~ Jacksonville, FL

The Kent County Junior Chamber ~ West Warwick, RI

Trees Atlanta ~ Atlanta, GA

TreeUtah ~ Salt Lake City, UT

TreePeople ~ Beverly Hills, CA

Check ‘em out and see what they’re up to! You just might spot some Glee Gum there.

So, let’s hear it for the trees! Can you spell “Y-I-P-P-E-E”?

Wow. I think I just did. Illustrated mascots everywhere, rejoice!

Wanna see how the Make Your Own Chewing Gum Kit works, from start to finish?

Check out this nifty video from Dan Delaney, host of WTF (”What’s This Food?”). As part of his daily web show profiling commonly unknown or unusual foods, Dan filmed the gum-making process this week. We’re hardly impartial, but we think the Gum Kit looks great onscreen. We gotta get that kit an agent!

Click here to view, and enjoy!

Some say that March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. If the blustery rain showers in Rhode Island today are any indication, we think the coming month will be full of perfect days to curl up in a cozy chair with a good book… and a pack of chewing gum, of course!

To that end, we’ve got a swell giveaway for you — 3 hardcover copies of the charming children’s book, Chavela and the Magic Bubble. Published last spring by Clarion Books and written by Monica Brown, it’s the story of a little girl whose love of chewing gum leads her on an amazing adventure. With the “Magic Chicle” gum that she buys at the corner store, Chavela blows a bubble big enough to send her soaring through the air. Transported through time and space to the jungles of the Yucatán, she watches chicleros harvest sapodilla trees for chicle – the same sticky stuff used in Glee Gum! Beautiful illustrations by Magaly Morales take the reader deep into the rainforest with Chavela. Incorporating Latin American culture, rainforest conservation, and the history of chewing gum, it’s a truly terrific trip!

For a chance to be one of the 3 random winners to receive a copy of Chavela and the Magic Bubble, leave a comment here on the blog in response to this not-so-simple question: if chewing a piece of gum had the power to transport YOU to any place and time, where and when would it be… and why?

We’ll select the winners next Friday, March 4, 2011. If you want to learn more about the book in the meantime, check out this nifty interview with the author. Hope you have a Glee-ful (if galoshes-wearing) week, gum chums!