Hope and Healing

We Can Spread Hope and Healing to Another Million Homes!!

Now, your support is twice as important!

October 19, 2000

Dear Friend:

You've seen our wonderful newspaper insert, Hope and Healing. (You can view the online edition with images of the actual layout at www.afterabortion.org/hope/hhindex.htm)

Post-abortion ministries are raving about it. In just two years, we already have over 2,000,000 copies in circulation.

Hope and Healing has proven to be a great low-cost way to educate the public about the devastating effects of abortion. At the same time, it aids and encourages post-abortion healing.

It also shows people that pro-life Christians really do care about women—both before and after abortion.

As you may recall, in April of 1999, an anonymous donor offered us a $20,000 challenge grant to distribute Hope and Healing. Our supporters, perhaps including you, responded to this challenge with cash contributions totaling $19,028.

With this $39,000 we were able to distribution 1.7 million copies of Hope and Healing!

We didn't do it alone, of course. We did pay the full cost of distributing it to 106,000 students on 11 university campuses. But we used the bulk of the funds to help co-sponsoring groups distribute another 1,609,000 copies through 13 other newspapers. After we paid all or part of the printing costs, these co-sponsors spent an additional $120,000 on shipping and insertion fees.

Four months ago, however, our distribution fund was fully spent. In fact, we had to draw funds from our general operating budget to help cover some of the shortfall.

But the demand is still there—and growing. More pro-life groups are asking for our help. If we can pay for the printing, they can cover the insertion and shipping costs. Our ability to underwrite the printing costs makes it easier to convince co-sponsors to take on the project of inserting Hope and Healing in their local papers. Without our help, only a few will undertake it on their own.

I've delayed in writing to you in the hope that our anonymous donor would be able to offer us—and you—another challenge grant. Unfortunately, I learned last week that donor is not in a position to help us this year. I pray we will get another matching grant some day, but not this time.

We're on our own. Your donation will NOT be matched by another donor. This doesn't make it any less important. In fact, it makes it twice as important! I'm not expecting you to give twice as much, but maybe you'll consider giving twice as often. Or maybe, if you passed on donating last time, you won't pass this time but will instead step forward to fill the gap.

People like you, make the difference. To raise $20,000, we need two donors to give $1,000; five to give $500; 30 to give $100; 100 to give $50; and 300 to give $25 or more.

Frankly, I'm not worried. God has always richly blessed all of our efforts. If this outreach effort is meant to go forward, He will provide all we need through you and people like you.

May God continue to bless you as richly as He has blessed us through you.

Thankfully yours for Life, in Christ,

David C. Reardon, Ph.D.
Director

P.S. If it is your heart, and budget, to send a donation, we will send you a subscription to The Post-Abortion Review. (See backissues at www.afterabortion.org/PAR/index.htm)

Mail your donation to:

Elliot Institute
PO Box 7348
Springfield, IL 62791