December 2012
Dear Friends & RFC Supporters,
Perhaps you share my deep sense of disquiet. Storms have battered us, from the devastation wrought by Sandy, to the political maelstrom leading up to the election. The economy remains bad, corporations still dominate our government, the police have been militarized, and law enforcement agencies remain intent on branding dissenters as terrorists. So we are likely to see an escalating demand for our help. That means children whose parents have been targeted for fighting back against massive unemployment and disenfranchisement continue to suffer. So do teenage activists who are standing up against repression. But you can help to shelter hundreds of these vulnerable children and youth in safe harbors, AND show your solidarity with the activists parents, by supporting the Rosenberg Fund for Children.
Because these kids are counting on us, we all must rise to the ocassion. We can’t let the devastating impacts of physical and economic hard times deter us. The RFC has awarded nearly $370,000 again this year, despite reduced revenues. We’ve done this because the need has grown even more critical, and because thousands of you in our community have shown that come what may, you’re willing to contribute your precious dollars to help these children. I’ve met and communicated with so many of you over the years that I am positive your steadfast support hasn’t wavered, even in the face of the enormous challenges many have faced in recent weeks.
I’ll be blunt. Mainly because of the elections, we haven’t raised as much money in 2012 as we did in 2011; but just like last year, we’re closing this one with a flood of new applications. I’m confident you will help us make up the lost ground we simply must regain, because you know we are strongest when we work together to meet the needs of our beneficiaries.
Because we’re helping children and youth impacted by such an array of attacks, rather than describe only a couple of recent awards, I’m going to highlight a half dozen. (All names are pseudonyms to protect our beneficiaries’ privacy.)
• We provided key educational equipment to 17-year-old Sadie. She and her mother - a Walmart employee who was denied treatment when she was hurt on the job, then fired for union organizing - are on the verge of homelessness.
• We paid for summer camp for six-year-old Rachel who was traumatized when the FBI ransacked her room claiming her peace activist parents were providing material aid to terrorists.
• We awarded funds for books for Ian, a targeted activist youth, jailed for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury investigation commenced last March, but claiming to investigate violence at a demonstration that didn’t occur until May, and which Ian did not even attend!
• We funded therapy for Jackson, now 12, who still has nightmares because police pointed their guns at him, and took his parents to prison for the “crime” of working to bring about peace between young African-Americans and Chicanos.
• We bought books and other educational materials for 21-year-old Brad, an active member of the Occupy movement, detained as a terrorist after being tricked by undercover FBI agents while working on a peace demonstration.
• We paid tuition at a progressive school for Keshon, age nine, son of a recently deceased black revolutionary leader falsely imprisoned for decades.
I chose six examples, rather than my typical two, because they demonstrate the dire need of so many of our beneficiaries and the breadth of our work. I hope the poignancy of their situations is not lost in the brevity of my descriptions. I wish I could give the stories of all the children we help the space they deserve, because that would drive home how critical their needs are and the potent relief our grants provide. For example, imagine the powerful therapeutic value of Keshon learning at a school that teaches his father’s history, as well as the work of many other women and men committed to social justice and human rights.
Authorities have ramped up their use of repressive laws in an attempt to silence those who are rebelling against the concentration of the planets’ resources in the hands of the wealthy few, and the elites’ greedy decisions that are threatening us all. Maybe you can’t join the thousands of dissenters working to bring about change on the streets of our increasingly unequal nation. But today, by giving to the Rosenberg Fund for Children, you can stand with them and help to protect their children. Every extra dollar you give will show these brave people and their families how much you and thousands like you value their resistance. We must never let them feel that they stand alone!
Your know how essential it is to serve the needs of our beneficiaries. You understand that your contribution will help by connecting these children to nurturing programs within the progressive community, and insulating them from ongoing repression.
Your contribution is tax-deductible. I renew my pledge that 90% of the funds you contribute in response to this report will be awarded to the children and youth we are helping.
We are confident you agree that we can’t let our advocacy for the children of targeted activists slacken when so much is at stake. If you’ve already given in 2012, now is the time to make a second donation. If you haven’t given yet, please show your support with a special, more substantial year-end donation to the RFC. Your help has never been more critical.
The children are depending on you.
Robert Meeropol
Executive Director