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Dear Executive Director: I am writing to commend your organization for its commitment to the fight against <disease (i.e. cancer)>, by funding crucial medical research that will someday soon find a cure, and patient programs that make a difference to sick patients today. I am a longtime supporter of your organization’s work. I would like to share with you information about the Humane Charity Seal of Approval. The Humane Seal is the easiest way to for health charities to show their commitment to providing direct care and services to patients, supplying health education, and funding vital, nonanimal research. Health charities can apply simply by completing a Statement of Assurance certifying that they do not now and will not in the future fund any research using animals. For many donors, whether or not a charity funds animal research is a key concern. In a recent poll of 1,006 adults, conducted by the Opinion Research Corporation International of Princeton, NJ, for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 51 percent agreed with the statement, “I would be more likely to donate to a health charity that had a policy of never funding any type of animal experiments.” The major donors of tomorrow are even more likely to be influenced by a charity’s stance on animal testing, with 70 percent of 18-to 24-year-olds preferring their donations not go to experiments on animals. Some corporations have adopted new policies supporting only cruelty-free charities in order to address employees’ and customers’ concerns surrounding support of animal experiments by health charities. I would like to stress that applying for or receiving the Seal does not imply that a health charity is in any way critical of research using animals. The Seal is simply a tool for donors like me who would like a certification as to how their donations are to be used. Some examples of charities that have been awarded the Humane Seal are the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation, Birth Defect Research for Children, Inc. the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, and the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. Complete information about the Humane Charity Seal of Approval and directions on how to apply can be found at www.HumaneSeal.org. You can also call the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit organization that administers the program for the Council, at 202-686-2210, ext. 335 for more information. Thank you for your attention to this very important issue. Sincerely,
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