"As a teacher of children with disabilities, I am outraged that the government will spend nearly $1 trillion of our tax dollars next year for war and weapons while desperately needed funding is cut from education." - Judi Cheng

I have decided to offer an $11,000 matching grant as a tax-deductible End-of-Year donation to the ANSWER Coalition.

I will match any donation – up to $11,000 – received from ANSWER Coalition supporters between now and December 31, 2010. All donations are tax-deductible.

Please click this link to make a donation that I will match dollar for dollar.

I received this money as an award from a decade-long lawsuit filed by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) on behalf of myself and nearly 700 other people who were illegally arrested on April 15, 2000, and then held in brutal and harsh conditions. We had been marching on a sidewalk during a protest outside a meeting of the International Monetary Fund when we were mass arrested. People were handcuffed on buses for as many as 24 hours and later hog tied if they dared speak up. Other people were handcuffed wrist to ankle on the police building floor.

I’ve thought a lot about what I should do with this settlement because I want to make a difference, just as I intended that day when I was falsely arrested and taken off the street for protesting.

I believe we all owe a debt to the ANSWER Coalition and its hundreds of volunteers who have worked tirelessly for peace and justice for so many years. I support the ANSWER Coalition because it organizes to oppose wars and military occupations that serve only the geo-strategic aims of imperialism.

I think that each of us should try to do our part to show concrete support for the ANSWER Coalition, which accomplishes so much based on devotion and hard work.

Funds are urgently needed and I am honored that my proposed contribution can double the donations received. I will match dollar for dollar every donation up to $11,000. Click here now to make your donation.

As a teacher of children with disabilities, I am outraged that the government will spend nearly $1 trillion of our tax dollars next year for war and weapons while desperately needed funding is cut from education.

A tax-deductible donation to ANSWER keeps some of our tax dollars out of the hands of the war machine and supports the peace movement inside the United States.

Please join me during this holiday season and make the most important gift of all: a donation to help the movement for peace and justice grow to meet the huge challenges of the coming year.

My very best regards to you and your family,

Judi Cheng