My tote bag with a design by Keet Leibowitz* (aka Relentlesstoil) arrived yesterday, much to my delight. It’s part of a campaign to fundraise for the March of Dimes.
The March of Dimes is an nonprofit organisation dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. The March of Dimes also works with partner agencies to improve the health of infants and mothers worldwide. They’ve been around a long time, starting with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s crusade to beat polio.
Mother’s Day is this weekend in many countries (March for the UK, and throughout the year for other countries), please consider a donation to the March of Dimes or a similar charity supporting family health in your area.
* Keet also illustrated my aviator print from Siobhan.
Friday, 9 May 2008
Happy Mother’s Day YES March of Dimes NO NO NO
Gail,it is important to know where the money goes!
March of Dimes continues to use its funds for cruel, and unnecessary, animal experiments. Easter Seal, or Birth Defect Research for Children, does not.
From PETA:
PETA’s newest billboard will let motorists know that parents who are concerned about kids and kittens want an end to animal experiments funded by the March of Dimes.
While no money has been allocated for such useful research tools as a birth defects registry to help determine patterns in children’s disabilities, March of Dimes-funded experimenters have spent funds sewing shut the eyes of newborn kittens. They have also strapped primates into restraining devices for days at a time; cut open the skulls of ferrets and injected chemicals directly into their brains; they even administer cocaine, alcohol, and nicotine to pregnant and newborn animals, despite the fact that we’ve all known for decades that all of these substances are harmful to developing babies!
This spring, PETA is launching a billboard in U.S.A. cities to coincide with the March of Dimes “WalkAmerica,” to let people know that when they donate to the March of Dimes, their money could pay for cruel and ineffective experiments on animals, rather than lifesaving programs for babies.
Friday, 9 May 2008
Although I am highly sceptical of PETA’s practices (I could list all their dubious activities, including euthanasia of adoptable animals and wasting funds, but that’s a whole other post), there are some pretty damning reports at the PCRM (Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine)’s website:
http://www.pcrm.org/resch/charities/mod/index.html
However, rather than stop supporting the March of Dimes altogether, PCRM suggests pressuring the sponsors of the March of Dimes campaigns to stop funding research using experiments on animals.
Saturday, 10 May 2008
All true, Gail,
And I am a supporter of PCRM. They don’t have a Canadian chapter but they do address Canadian conditions.
As a donor to many organizations, and not as influential as a large corporation, I “vote with my feet” and always let a soliciting organization know why I am not donating. It is not much but perhaps the cumulative effect is worthwhile.
It also takes more effort to investigate, to write and to send one’s views. But that’s important, correct?
PCRM operates from the physician’s great principle- “first, do no harm.” Their information on live animal experiments in certain Canadian universities is also interesting for those of us at the age to consider bequests.
Well, you know me- not perfect, not consistent, but trying, (and some would say, very,very trying!)
Liz