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Dear Friends, 

On February 4th, 2010, our Reaching Minds Through Media Campaign will wrap up a 13-week media buy on CTV and CHCH affiliates across the province. This has been an opportune time to be on the air, as viewership is high and ad rates are somewhat lower.

During this campaign we used the powerful commercials "Hero" and "Vanished" which can be viewed on our website.  For the first time, we changed the tag-line on one of our  commercials in order to track more effectively the response from viewers. Our Hero commercial directed viewers to  the 24 Hour Helpline and our website, while our Vanished commercial directed viewers to contact our office or website. We have not yet received the report tracking the number of calls to our 24 Hour Helpline but we can tell you that our website traffic increased over 150% while the ads were on the air compared to the same time last year when we were off the air. Moreover, numerous phone calls, emails and on-line donations were generated from being on the air.

Some of the reaction from viewers was particularly "strong" to say the least.  We are working on uploading some of the messages left on our voice-mail on our website (bleeped versions of course) so you can hear what the other side  thinks of our commercials and below is a sampling of comments from a few emails:

"I would like my donation to go towards "Reaching Minds through the Media" campaign. I have been extremely happy to see the commercial on CHCH channel 11."

"Seen your commercial on prime time tv... great stuff!!"

"We are so encouraged to see this form of advertising... Our gratitude goes to you."

"I saw your commercial and found it totally offensive and I will make sure to spread the word that you are dishing out propaganda to the public, and I will complain to the crtc telling them to restrict your open bigotry against all women that chose what to do with there (sic) body's (sic)..."

"I see that your organization has purchased air time to voice your religious beliefs on the Ontario public. I find the claim 1 in 4 children aborted exaggerated and not unlike other shock tactics you believers use..."

"I recently saw your commercial and noticed that you forgot to show children with Downes (sic) Syndrome, Spina Bifida and so on.  Oh but then of course, you wouldn't would you..."

"I saw your advertisement on tv and I must say that as someone who was a victim of child neglect, and seeing children in the child welfare system and what they go through, I would rather women who do not want a baby to abort it than bring an unwanted child into this world."

So it would seem that we've hit a nerve - which only convinces us all the more how important it is to bring the message of life to the public.

What is even more surprising is that we've even had a major network, contact us to request that we air our ads on their station. Who would have thought that the day would come when networks would be knocking on our door?

All of this reaction has prompted us to ask the question, what if we could be on the air all the time? Imagine the impact we could have! 

We know it has been a struggle to raise the money to have even a 13-week campaign, but we would like to propose a challenge to each of our affiliate groups, business partners and partnering churches. Would you be willing to participate in our "REACHING MINDS All THE TIME APPEAL"?

What exactly does that mean? As you know Alliance for Life Ontario currently serves 58 groups across the province.  If each of our groups, coupled with their business partners and local churches, conducted an annual fundraiser with the financial  target of $7,000, we could be on the air all the time without skipping a beat. 

We're reaching thousands of people every day and the word is getting out that the other side is a little unnerved by the affects we're having. 

The severity of the battle for life requires that we ask you to step up your efforts with more financial support than ever before, but we think you agree that it's worth every penny. The reason is simple: to continue to change minds and save lives! 

If you would like to join our REACHING MINDS ALL THE TIME APPEAL, please take the time now to respond to our survey question by clicking on this link.