Voting Victory + Syria Appeal

[howard.tolley]

Victory
In response to a public outcry that included responses from a UUJO action alert Gov. John Kasich used his line-item-veto authority to strike a provision in the state's transportation budget that would have obstructed voting by out-of-state college student.  Article http://news.yahoo.com/kasich-strikes-voter-item-ohios-002019019.html;_ylt=A0LEVjqCwx5VKhcArUgnnIlQ

UU Peacemakers Network Appeal for Syria

SAMPLE SPECIAL PLATE COLLECTION SCRIPT TO THE CONGREGATION
Experts warn of a "humanitarian catastrophe" unfolding in war-torn Syria. The UN Secretary General noted "Four out of five Syrians live in poverty, misery, and deprivation." The World Food Program (WFP) an independently funded UN agency recently ran out of funds for its Syrian relief program.  A Special Offering is currently scheduled for Sunday ______ __, 2015.

 If donating by check please put WFP/USA-Syria in the memo line.   To make a donation by phone, please WFP/USA at 202-627-3737. You can also donate online, but a contribution there will go wherever it is needed so a check that specifies a gift “for Syria” is better.  
 _________________
1.      Either a “Special Collection for Homeless Syrians” or a “Share-the-Plate Offering” would help the desperate situation in the Middle East.  It would both feed the Syrians and the provide jobs for grocers in the host countries, especially Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, who sell food for World Food Program vouchers.
2.      The U.N. World Food Programme, headquartered in Rome, is the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. It is part of the UN system but does not get any portion of UN dues or assessed contributions.  Their programs are funded by voluntary contributions, largely from governments.  As a UN agency, private donors cannot receive tax deductions for contributing to it.
3.      The entire World Food Programme is not facing a shortage of funding. However, WFP funding is not fungible, as monies designated for one country cannot be reallocated to another. So the funding for Syria is urgently needed.  It requires $64million month to feed the 6.8million Syrians that it reaches.
4.      Contributions from your congregation should go the World Food Program/USA, hereafter called WFP/USA.  The WFP/USA is a tax-deductible, 501-c-3 IRS certified private charity, headquartered in Washington, DC.  It works with the UN WFP by providing contributions through fundraising.  (Other UN agencies work the same way: UNICEF, for example, makes all the policies about its program, delivers its services, but the US Fund for UNICEF provides funding for them and provides tax-deductions for US contributors.)
5.      In order to make sure that your funding goes to homeless Syrians, please write “for Syria” in the memo of any check.  From your congregational offering plate, please make out a check to:
World Food Program USA
Attn: Development Department
1725 I Street NW, Suite 510
Washington, DC 20006
6.      To make a donation by phone, please WFP/USA at 202-627-3737. You can also donate online, but a contribution there will go wherever it is needed.  For now, most gifts go to Syrians, but a check that specifies a gift “for Syria” is better.  
7.      Please indicate, if the check is from a UU Congregation, who the contact person is and how to reach him or her in the event of a question.
We greatly appreciate tall congregations that joined UU congregations across out denomination giving hope to Syrian children, women and men for a better life in a peaceful country.