December 20, 2004


Dear Friends, 

Happy Holidays and thank you for your continued and generous support of CODEPINK:  Women for Peace! Completing a powerful second year, CODEPINK has achieved bold outcomes:

* CODEPINK is one of the only international groups getting aid to the war-terrorized people of Iraq. We are delighted to report that our efforts to raise money for the refugees of Fallujah have yielded over $100,000 dollars from generous, caring people like yourself, and $500,000 worth of supplies from humanitarian organizations. On December 27th, CODEPINK will lead a delegation to deliver medicines, blankets and warm clothes to the families and civilians whose homes were decimated in the US-led attack. The delegation, which includes parents of soldiers killed while fighting in Iraq, will also meet with Iraqi peace activists, health officials and human right leaders.  Upon return, we will hold congressional briefings, publicize our findings to the media, and launch a national speaking tour calling for the withdrawal of US troops. 

* CODEPINK is on the forefront of denouncing electoral fraud and calling for major electoral reform. CODEPINK helped establish a No Stolen Elections coalition (www.NoStolenElections.org) , a watchdog website for voter fraud, and actively supported the recount efforts in Ohio.  Look for Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's pink slip coming soon for his part in hampering a fair vote process in Ohio! Immediately after the election, we authored and circulated a 10-point Voter Bill of Rights that we will deliver (with over 25,000 of your signatures!) to each member of Congress when they meet January 21. We are now working with a broad-based coalition for reforms such as a voter-verified paper trail for all touch-screen voting machines and non-partisan oversight of elections. CODEPINK is determined to reclaim our democracy!

What else can you look forward to in 2005?

* Remember how CODEPINK stunned the nation when we appeared on the floor of the Republican National Convention--three nights in a row--with our anti-war message?  Well, look out for our presence in Washington, DC on Inauguration Day, January 20th.  Or better yet--join us! (see www.codepinkalert.org for details)

* During the entire week of International Women's Day, March 8th in New York City, the UN will hold meetings to assess the status of women 10 years after the milestone Women's Conference in Beijing. CODEPINK will be there, organizing public events, teach-ins, and strategy sessions with some of the fantastic international women guests.

* On the 2nd anniversary of the March 20th Iraq invasion, we will help organize a massive national and international show of opposition to the war.

* Look for our book, How to Stop the Next War Now: Effective Responses to Violence and Terrorism, due out in the Spring, with contributions from awesome women, including four Nobel Prize winners--Wangari Maathai, Shirin Ebadi, Helen Caldicott and Jody Williams.

* CODEPINK continues to add chapters around the country, and the world.  Just recently we welcomed a new CODEPINK branch in Capetown, South Africa!  And our membership on college campuses is exploding. This year we'll be organizing training sessions around the country to help hone the skills of our CODEPINK activists.
 
We hope you will take a moment during this holiday season to make a contribution to CODEPINK. Natalya, a 12-year-old girl, recently donated her entire year's saving--$75--to CODEPINK, writing "I decided to donate to your organization because of the recent election and because I feel very strongly about the destruction that Bush has caused in Iraq. I hope that you can help restore this broken country."

We are indeed determined to "help restore this broken country." We ask you to join Natalya by making a generous donation to our work. Donate securley online http://donate.kintera.org/codepink or send checks to CODEPINK/Etina, 2010 Linden Ave, Venice CA 90291. 

Thank you for a wonderful year, and for your support and involvement with CODEPINK! With George Bush in office for another four years, we need CODEPINK more than ever. Please help us grow, thrive and heal this broken country.

Wishing you peace for the New Year,

Jodie Evans, Medea Benjamin and Gael Murphy
Co-founders of CODEPINK: Women for Peace

P.S. -- Make a statement for peace in 2005!  Click here to make a contribution of $100 or more and we will send you a free "Peace paint not war paint" lip gloss palette, especially made for us by Peacekeeper.