First, I want to thank you all for the generous financial support youšve given this organization throughout the last year. Without the financial backing of the families and friends of the men and women in prison in Ohio, CURE-Ohio could not have grown to the level of influence we now have throughout the state. Every day we are networking with other advocates, attorneys, legislators, and criminal justice professionals, all with an eye on establishing a meaningful and effective dialogue for solving some of the severe problems with corrections in Ohio.
But sometimes dialogue is not enough. Sometimes strong action is required. We all know when injustice overwhelms and coerces an entire class of people that it becomes necessary to fight for justice in our courts.
Therefore, members of the CURE-Ohio Board have recently made contact with an attorney who is willing to file a major class action lawsuit for the families of the incarcerated in Ohio. If you have communications with someone in an Ohio prison, you could be part of the class, regardless of where you live.
Unfortunately, because the ODRC monitors these web sites, we cannot inform you at this time about this particular issue. However, if we win this lawsuit, all financial worries of prisoners' families will be reduced greatly.
We all know how expensive it is to have a loved one in prison. When we add up the cost of phone calls, food boxes, sundry boxes, and extra cash sent in to cover the ever rising costs in the commissary, we are often looking at a significant amount of money.
The attorney we found has won a lawsuit on this same issue in another state, so he has good credentials. He is willing to waive a retainer fee and has agreed to collect his fees from the settlement. However, CURE-Ohio needs to raise $5,000 to cover the cost of legal research and expert testimony. We are therefore establishing the Bell Fund, in which all donations for this legal work will be held.
We have over 600 family and individual members. If only 500 people gave us $10, we would have the fund. If you can't afford a $10 donation, then whatever amount you can send is appreciated and will be used for the fund.
We know it is Christmas time, and everyonešs budget is already stressed to the breaking point, but if we all just give a little bit more, we all stand to gain much, much more in the end. What better way is there to show the spirit of the season than to give in unity to help each other survive the years our dear ones are incarcerated?
Please be generous one more time before the end of the year, and contribute a small (or large) donation to the Bell Fund. Please make your checks payable to : CURE-Ohio and indicate that they are for the Bell Fund. We may all have a much merrier Christmas next year if we can give that little extra this Christmas.