Dear Friend,

You can make a difference. This is my message to you today, and I am sending it with an unparalleled level of urgency.

We are currently facing the most serious world food crisis in recent memory. Increased demand, rising fuel prices, bad weather and disastrous public policies have combined to create a perfect storm that is currently threatening an additional 100 million people, on every continent, with severe hunger, malnutrition and worse. The United Nations' World Food Program calls this crisis the biggest challenge it has faced in its 45-year history. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said the problem is so extreme that it raises the specter of "social unrest on an unprecedented scale." Here at home, higher costs for everything from gasoline to food are putting even more stress on ordinary working families, who can no longer pay the rent or afford a nutritious breakfast for their children. With lives in jeopardy and societies across the globe literally on the brink of chaos, the time for us to act is now.

We have a unique opportunity to turn the tide. In the coming days, many of us will be receiving tax rebates from the federal government. I implore you to join me in sending a portion of this refund to MAZON, where it will provide desperately needed relief for so many families living on the edge. Put simply, your tax-deductible donation can save lives.

As members of the Jewish community, we have a special obligation to pursue justice for all people who suffer. Our text and tradition teach us to "help the stranger," and to offer an outstretched hand to our neighbors, regardless of faith or background, during their times of need. This obligation applies to all of us, and we must give what we are able, for if we are truly to heal the world, we must each play a part in its redemption.

Please accept my sincerest thanks for your ongoing generosity. We deeply appreciate your partnership -- and millions of people are counting on it.

B'shalom,

H. Eric Schockman, Ph.D
President

1990 South Bundy Drive, Suite 260, Los Angeles, CA 90025
Tel: (310) 442-0020 Fax: (310) 442-0030
www.mazon.org