• Gentle Thanksgiving Sets New Records
• CHOICE School Lunch Program Advances
• Animal Rights 2005 Talks Posted
• New Year's Resolution Postcards Available
• Year-End Giving Options Listed

Gentle Thanksgiving Sets New Records

This year's Gentle Thanksgiving campaign set new records in the number of participating groups and states. Our Gentle Thanksgiving website lists
128 activities in 35 states. These included public dinners, information tables, video screenings, and leafleting.

Some of the dinners, in DC, Durham, and Los Angeles, hosted nearly 300 people. The leafleting employed 5,000 of our special Thanksgiving cards. We mailed nearly 600 Veg Thanksgiving Starter Kits to inquirers.

We also sent a letter to the editors of 800 newspapers and several thousand news releases to Food, Lifestyle and News Editors and talk show producers. More than 60 newspapers published our letter. Karen Davis of United Poultry Concerns conducted a dozen radio interviews.

For more details, please visit GentleThanksgiving.org.

CHOICE School Lunch Program Advances

CHOICE has been focusing its efforts on California and Florida. Our California Coordinator Nora Kramer and our San Francisco Bay School Lunch Committee are seeking to implement the California state legislative resolution in local schools. They are collecting petition signatures and assisting progressive school officials. The resolution recommends a daily vegan school lunch option in the state's schools.

The San Francisco Unified School District has already introduced a vegan chili. The nearby Novato Public School District is introducing vegan menu items through student surveys and taste testing. Vegan body builder and In Defense of Animals Vegan Campaigns Manager Kenneth Williams is planning speaking engagements for CHOICE in California schools.

In Florida, Representative Susan Bucher has committed to sponsor a similar vegan school lunch resolution to be voted on in March. We are currently seeking cosponsors. Activists across the state have collected more than 5,000 supporting signatures. Several organizations have pledged their support.

CHOICE has advised a number of parents across the country on how best to introduce vegan meals and nutrition education in local schools. The CHOICE website offers valuable guidance and news of latest developments for parents, teachers, students, and school officials.

For assistance in introducing vegan lunch options in your school district, please e-mail Susan or call her at 877-6 CHOICE

Animal Rights 2005 Talks Posted

Recordings of 20 sessions selected from the 120 held at the Animal Rights 2005 National Conference have been posted on the Conference website. Topics include Making of an Activist, Running a Local Group, Running Successful Events, Forging Coalitions, Winning Hearts and Minds, Placing Effective Advertising, Running Effective Campaigns, Applying Direct Action, Enacting Protective Laws, Engaging the Community, Engaging Youth, Engaging Religions, Engaging Public Interest, Engaging Business, Engaging Politicians, Engaging Media.

A complete recording of the Animal Rights 2005 National Conference is available for $159. Individual sessions on CD are $9. Please order from JOB CRS, 4610 South Dakota Ave NE, Washington, DC 20017; 202-269-2000 and include $2 for shipping.

The Animal Rights 2006 National Conference will be held on August 10-14 at the Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, a suburb of Washington. This is our most attractive venue since we started hosting national animal rights conferences in 1981. The building has lots of sunlight, and we have the entire conference level. It is located on a small lake and adjoins a botanic preserve with running trails. The program will celebrate our movement's 25th anniversary.

Please visit our AR2006 website in January for deep registration discount.

New Year's Resolution Postcards Available

Here is a special opportunity to send a caring New Year's greeting card to your relatives, friends, and coworkers. The card cites the merits of a vegan diet, offers a free Veg Starter Kit and weekly supportive e-newsletters, and touts the diet as the best New Year's resolution.

Of course, it provides a space for your personal greeting.

Please e-mail Jen or call her at 800 MEATOUT to request the cards.

Year-End Giving Options Listed

Each year, my staff and I do our utmost to end the terrible tragedy of animal agriculture by mounting eight major programs to promote a vegan diet. We operate with an incredible 4% overhead because we volunteer all or part of our time, because we don't use professional fund raisers, and because we keep expenses to a minimum (including free office space).

As we look forward to a new year of action for farmed animals, I ask you to match our dedication with a generous tax-deductible donation. I ask you to make sure that Meatout, CHOICE, Veg Earth Day, Letters From FARM, World Farm Animals Day, Gentle Thanksgiving, Sabina Fund, and Animal Rights 2006 don't falter for lack of basic funding.

You can send a check to FARM, 10101 Ashburton Lane, or charge your donation on-line, or by phone at 888 ASK FARM.

Here are other creative ways to help:

o Automatic contribution – Instruct us to charge a designated monthly amount to your credit card.
o Planned giving - Include FARM in your will so your support for animals survives you.
o Matching gifts - Double your donation through your employer’s matching gift.
o Payroll deduction - Designate FARM as a beneficiary of your employer’s payroll deduction charitable campaign.
o Appreciated property - Give appreciated securities or other property directly to FARM to avoid capital gains tax and get tax deduction on appreciated value.

For details, e-mail or call me at 888-ASK-FARM. Thank you for caring.

-- Alex Hershaft