Dear friends,

I’m writing to you concerning our new project, the Freedom Bus. During nine days in late September this year, a convoy of buses will visit the key sites of oppression and resistance within the West Bank, using Playback Theatre to enact autobiographical accounts of community members, translating life stories into improvised theatre pieces. Through live video link, Palestinians in Gaza and the Diaspora will also participate.

Preparations for the ride have already begun, with playback performances being held in communities throughout the West Bank and with youth in Gaza via videolink. The Freedom Bus crew recently visited Jordan to enact stories from the Arab Spring, and currently they are performing similar stories in Egypt. Tonight, they will perform in Tahrir Square – the heart of the Egyptian revolution. All of us at The Freedom Theatre feel very excited about this project and we’re proud to say that it is truly making a difference.

Now to the reason why i’m writing to you. The Freedom Bus has been selected by GlobalGiving, an online fundraising tool for non-profits, to participate in their open challenge. Within the month of April, we need to raise 4000 USD from 50 different people for the Freedom Bus in order to meet the challenge. See http://globalgiving.org/projects/freedombus for more information.

We’re already on our way towards meeting this goal but we need another 11 people to donate a total amount of 230 USD. And it doesn’t stop there: if we succeed, we will be able to continue raising money for the whole project. Also, we will become partners of Global Giving which means we can make fundraising campaigns for our other projects in the future.

If you feel this is a project that you wish to support, you can make a big contribution by donating – big or small amounts, every donation counts! – as well as by reaching out to friends and contacts, asking them to donate and/or to spread the word. Attached is a draft letter that you can use for inspiration, feel free to change it as you like.

If you want to make it short and sweet, this is basically what we’re asking people to do:

• Donate to The Freedom Bus at http://globalgiving.org/projects/freedombus
• Spread the word – call or email friends, family members and colleagues and ask them to donate
• Post a link to http://globalgiving.org/projects/freedombus on facebook, blogs, twitter, or other social media, asking people to support The Freedom Bus.
• Join forces with colleagues, family members or friends to organize a fundraising event, online or offline, for the Freedom Bus.

Thank you for your support!!

Best wishes,

Johanna Wallin
The Freedom Theatre
Jenin Refugee Camp
Occupied Palestine
http://www.thefreedomtheatre.org/