| Author and campaigner John Robbins has motivated more people to go vegetarian or vegan than perhaps anyone else alive today. Thanks to his books (including Diet For A New America and The Food Revolution), millions have been encouraged to make kinder and more sustainable choices. John is the founder of EarthSave International and his son, Ocean, founded the organization Youth for Environmental Sanity.
Sadly, John and his wife Deo have recently been victims of a great injustice. Last month, they learned that they had lost their entire life savings as a result of the Bernard Madoff fraud, with very little chance they will recover any of it. Since the extended family was living off these savings, it has put them into a sudden and severe financial crisis.
To economize, they immediately rented out every extra room in their house and every spare space on their property. Still, it is not clear whether they will be able to keep the home they share with Ocean, his wife Michelle, and their two special needs grandchildren. Both Michelle and Deo have taken on part time jobs, and Deo has also taken over the formerly paid-for day care for the children. John is writing a new book, but it could be many months before any income may come from that effort.
Last week, the US website Vegsource leapt into action and launched a campaign to raise funds for the family. They are accepting donations by cheque, which is great for the many in the US who want to help. But it's not an ideal way to send money from the UK, since the fees US banks charge to clear a foreign cheque are so high that they would wipe out smaller donations entirely.
That's where we come in. We are offering those in the UK the opportunity to donate through us. Since The Fresh Network operates in both the UK and the US, we can accept your donation in pounds and send it on to the Robbins family in dollars without the usual cheque clearing costs, nor any of the usual costs involved in exchanging currency. We have communicated with John about this and arranged that we will be sending the funds we raise direct to him.
We hope you will give whatever you can afford. Together let's show this extraordinary family our appreciation for all they have done, and carry them through this crisis so that they can continue focusing their energies on their pioneering work.
Donate £10 or more and you'll get a free Get Fresh! e-magazine of your choice Just indicate which one you'd like in the comments box when you donate online.
Please note that you can select multiples of any amount listed above. For example, if you want to donate £75, select £25 as the amount and put "3" in the "Quantity" box.
However, none of our discount codes can be used in conjunction with donations. So if you are donating as part of a larger order that qualifies for a discount, please either:
* do your product purchase and your donation as two separate transactions;
* call us on 0845 833 7017 so that we can take care of it all for you; or
* place your product order online and send us a cheque with your donation.
Please make your cheque payable to The Fresh Network Ltd and send it to us at: The Fresh Network, Unit 4, Aylsham Business Estate, Aylsham, Norfolk NR11 6SZ. Please put the cheque in a second envelope that reads "John Robbins appeal" and underneath this write your name and email address, and the issue number of the e-magazine you would like to receive.
Whether you choose to donate online, by post or by phone, you will receive your free e-magazine as soon as your payment has been processed, and we will also send you a receipt acknowledging your donation.
If you have any questions, or can't figure out how to do what you want to do online, please don't hesitate to ring us on 0845 833 7017.
You can read more about John's life and work in our recent interview with him.
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