(THANK YOU to Connie, Will, Nicole, Jim & Irene, Mary M., Andy, and *my mom!* for your online donations--and to Mary T. for her offline contribution!  We're more than half-way there!)

Hello!  Are you a returning sponsor from the 2008 Walk--or a new one?  Either way, thanks so much for stopping by!

Just about this time last summer, I was wowed by Farm Sanctuary's coalition-leading efforts in saving 69 pigs from a hellish fate first of a life relegated to confinement, followed by a swim-for-your-life effort in toxic flood waters and under a blistering sun, and capped off by being shot at by law enforcement in the little town of Oakville, Iowa, a 1 1/2-hour drive from Iowa City.

A month after the rescue, I spent two months helping rehabilitate all of those fellow Iowans--plus several more piglets, born at the nonprofit's NY shelter.  Thanks to donations from the compassionate public--and the tireless work of the shelter staff--the surviving pigs are living out their "this little piggy will NEVER go to the market" lives under the compassionate care of individuals and this and other sanctuaries across the country. (Off to the left is a snapshot I took of two of these gargantuan loves, lollygagging in a field of clover.)

This spring, I put on a 10-event program lineup in Iowa, featuring Farm Sanctuary's President and Co-founder Gene Baur speaking to the MANY benefits of helping farm animals out of their current plight.  His message was enthusiastically received by many a packed venue and to listeners of Iowa Public Radio and the University of Iowa college station.

For more information on Farm Sanctuary, please watch the short video off the left--and THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for any contribution you are in a position to make!

--Elizabeth