Dear PTAVE List Member:

When we introduced “Plain Talk about Spanking” in 1992, we did our own printing on a donated 50s vintage Rotoprint offset duplicating machine housed in my garage. It was a slow, noisy, messy process, and the print quality was uneven. But we had booklets. Eventually, as our improved financial situation permitted, and as the ever-increasing demand for booklets required, we turned to commercial printing.

Today, we are approaching a new threshold, and I am very worried. The demand for “Plain Talk” continues to grow surpassing anything we could have anticipated or hoped for. That’s good. But our finances have dipped to a level prior to that of our Rotoprint days. That’s not good. For the first time in our organization’s history, we are nearing the point at which we will be forced to decline to fill requests. To state the obvious, we can’t supply printed materials that we don’t have, and we can’t print if we can’t pay the printer.

I know these are difficult times for everyone, and I understand why donations to even the worthiest causes have fallen off so dramatically. But we need so little! And the objective is so important! If every reader of this letter set aside $5 each month to be applied to PTAVE’s printing budget, the result would be a major improvement in the lives of many children. If you think I am exaggerating, click on the following link and peruse the list of typical professional users of “Plain Talk about Spanking,” and read what some have written to us about it. You’ll also see a link to the online version and information for ordering free copies. Click here: www.nospank.net/ptusers.htm.

Instructions for donating are at www.nospank.net/donate-3.htm. Thank you for your support.

Jordan Riak, Exec. Dir.,
Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education
E-mail: riak@nospank.net
Mail: PTAVE, P.O. Box 1033, Alamo, CA 94507 US
Tel: 925-831-1661
Web site: “Project NoSpank” at http://www.nospank.net/

November 3, 2008

21 to go!
An Open Letter to Our Friends from The Hitting Stops Here!

Dear Activists & Supporters of the campaign to ban corporal punishment in U. S. public schools,

My name is Paula Flowe and I am Director and Founder of the organization, The Hitting Stops Here! I am also a board member of Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education, led by Executive Director, Jordan Riak. The Hitting Stops Here! is planning two major events as part of a campaign we call, “21 To Go!” Our plan is to alert everyone to the fact that there are 21 states that still permit corporal punishment of schoolchildren. We urgently need your support at this time.

What is corporal punishment?

Some define it as “discipline.” We define it as “assault and battery” — exactly what it’s called when done to anyone other than a child. We believe no group should be excluded from the normal protections against assault and battery, and that any interpretation of law that allows one person to batter another with a dangerous weapon on the pretext that it is in the victim’s best interest is dishonest, unethical, immoral and shameful. The United States is the only developed democracy where lawmakers seem unable to grasp this concept.

Our public awareness campaign will consist of two events. One will be held the weekend of November 21 and the second, a demonstration, will be held in front of the Capitol Bldg. in Washington D. C. Please visit www.thehittingstopshere.com/21togo.htm to learn the details and to find out how you can support and participate in the our “21 To Go!” campaign. With your help we can make all schools places that attract and inspire children to learn rather than fill them with the urge to escape.

Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Paula Flowe, Director
The Hitting Stops Here!

Web site: http://thehittingstopshere.com/
E-mail: paulaflowe@thehittingstopshere.com
Telephone: (408) 298-2181 ext. 3832 (24 hr. number)