Today we launch our annual Christmas Campaign with a goal of $150,000 this year. We realize this seems ambitious, but we are in great need from the many demanding events of this past year. As well, this is the time to raise funds required to keep LifeSiteNews going during the lean early winter months. We appeal for your help to spread our unique pro-life, pro-family, ‘big picture’ news stories around the world.
The past year has been quite an adventure for LifeSiteNews. Since we have not backed down from our mission to boldly report on behalf of life and family issues, our service is under increasing attack from those who want to silence the Truth. This year has been no exception, if not the most threatening of all!
2011 in review:
Last February we announced the shocking news that a lawsuit for $500,000 had been filed against LifeSiteNews and some of its named staff by Fr. Raymond Gravel, a ‘pro-choice’ Catholic priest in Quebec. Just this past week, our editor-in-chief John-Henry Westen traveled to Quebec for a discovery hearing regarding the case.
Our written defense will finally be submitted before Christmas and the trial, now involving a team of three lawyers acting on our behalf, will begin in either 2012 or 2013. We will report much more on the case at a later date when we are free to do so.
Our Summer and Fall campaigns began uncharacteristically slow this year causing real concern that LifeSiteNews would not have the funds necessary to continue our current level of operations. Although our goals were unfortunately not met for either campaign, the response ended up being adequate to at least maintain our services.
As the Development and Peace controversy continues in Canada, the Catholic ‘social justice’ organization’s members were encouraged to “Occupy LifeSite” by flooding the comments section of news coverage of LifeSiteNews with nasty attacks and distortions about our news service and its reports.
Not only have the enemies of life attempted to silence the message of truth, but we have also witnessed unprecedented threats to the basic freedoms that allow us to spread this message of Truth!
One of our writer/translators, Julio Severo, had his much needed PayPal account privileges removed following complaints to PayPal from a gay-activist group that his pro-family message is hate speech! Severo was told by Paypal that the significant funds in the account at the time would not be released to him for 9 months!
However, all these things mean that we have been having an impact.
Those who oppose the Culture of Life are increasingly seeing LifeSiteNews to be a threat to their agendas. We don’t intend to be a threat to anyone, but we do believe in the great power of truth and the need for that truth.
This past year has also been filled with other more explicitly encouraging events as a result of the work you have helped us to accomplish:
In the time of greatest need in LifeSiteNews history, you made the difference! The outpouring of support we received in response to our announcement of the lawsuit was very encouraging. Though we still have a long way to go to win this battle, your support kept us moving forward with our mission.
Following updates and a fresh look, our website is on track to reach well over 12 million pageviews this year! We have also seen 500,000 unique visitors per month for the past 3 months straight! Our various Facebook pages have accumulated nearly 50,000 “fans” or “likes.”
LifeSiteNews has been incredibly successful this past year in providing pro-life leaders in Latin America with crucial research and information in their battle for life and family. Our speaking presentations at various events in the Mexico, Brazil, the US and Canada have been so well received that there have been more subsequent conference invitations than we have been able to accept!
As we here at LifeSiteNews reflect on this past year, we are exceptionally grateful for your support which has brought great success in the battle for life and family and has been a source of continual inspiration during the worst assaults.
One struggle that is always with us is obtaining a regular flow of financial resources to keep up our current level of reporting and activities.
In addition, though, no Internet service can maintain a healthy momentum unless it continually improves and keeps up with the latest Internet publishing trends and technologies. For that we need more funds than just an amount to cover our most basic operating costs.
During this Christmas Campaign – our largest and most important of the year – I hope you can be extra generous.
(Click here to donate today)
Steve Jalsevac
Managing Director
LifeSiteNews.com
U.S. and International Donors
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Call our office at (888) 678-6008 x. 923 between 9:00 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.
To donate by mail, print out and fill in one of our Adobe Acrobat PDF format mail-in forms (Click here). Then mail it with your check, money order, or credit card information to the address below. Please note that you can set up an automatic recurring donation using your bank account or credit card by indicating your intention to do so on the check or mail-in form.
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Canadian donors
Click here to donate online.
Call our office at (888) 678-6008 x. 923 between 9:00 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST.
To donate by mail, print out and fill in one of our Adobe Acrobat PDF format mail-in forms (Click here). Then mail it with your check, money order, or credit card information to the address below. Please note that you can set up an automatic recurring donation using your bank account or credit card by indicating your intention to do so on the check or mail-in form.
LifeSiteNews.com
104 Bond St.
Toronto, ON
M5B 1X9
*If the donation is towards a certain promotion or campaign, (i.e. Christmas Campaign 2011) please indicate this on the mail-in form and check.