The Militant - June 16, 2003 -- Supporters of communist movement make progress in $300,000 campaign

Vol. 67/No. 20 June 16, 2003

Supporters of communist movement
make progress in $300,000 campaign

BY NAN BAILEY
LOS ANGELES—Supporters of the Socialist Workers Party contributed more than $27,800 in April, well above the $25,000-a-month average that is the goal in the their monthly contribution campaign. Last August, supporters decided to campaign to meet the goal of raising $300,000 annually in contributions to the party. The nine-month total collection stands at $225,600.

In a letter to supporters announcing the April results, Sara Gates said, “This is fantastic news. As with any victory, we must use it to press forward and continue to work to professionalize supporters’ finances. We are in striking distance of our goal of an annual $300,000 in contributions by the end of July. A solid collection of $25,000 in May, as well as in June and July, will bring this campaign home.” Gates is the organizer of the Seattle-based steering committee that coordinates the campaign.

In her letter Gates added, “Since August of 1999, when contributions from supporters first began to be organized centrally through a steering committee in Seattle working with supporters around the country, we have steadily made improvements in our organization of the campaign, in the number of contributors, and in the amount pledged and paid each month. We have met every goal that we have set for ourselves, and we are within reach of meeting the present one. Based on what this campaign has accomplished we have earned the opportunity to take the next logical step.

“Beginning with the June collection, all checks collected by supporters’ financial directors will be sent to Seattle. We are in the process of obtaining a post office box in Seattle and will announce the address as soon as it is finalized. In the meantime, checks for contributions for the month of May should be sent to the party national office in New York.

“This new responsibility is one of a number of examples of the strength of the organization of supporters of the party today,” Gates said. “The accomplishments of this campaign go hand in hand with the progress being made by supporters on the Pathfinder Print Project and at the Pathfinder distribution center in Atlanta.

“We are all taking on added responsibilities in our work to support the party. In doing so, we are writing a new page in the history of the organization of the communist party. Our support will continue to reinforce and magnify the party’s ability to carry out the tasks that lie ahead. We help bring the party’s message of anti-imperialism and proletarian internationalism to increasing numbers of workers and youth who are looking for ways to fight back against the capitalist system that oppresses, degrades, and dehumanizes them. Our party offers the political way forward, and supporters are there every step of the way.”

If you would like to join the monthly supporters contribution campaign, contact Sara Gates at sjgates@attbi.com.

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