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Voiceless.org.au
December 2004
Voiceless, the Fund for Animals is awarding grants totalling $141,000
to 17 organisations as part of its inaugural 2004 Annual Grants
Program, including three grants of $20,000 each
Internationally renowned actor Hugo Weaving will present the $20,000
grant recipients with their awards at a media conference at the Sherman
Galleries, Paddington on Monday 29th November at 11am . In his role as
a Voiceless ambassador and one of five who judged the applications,
Weaving says the organisation was greatly encouraged by the
overwhelming number of applications submitted.
"The Voiceless Grants program received over 110 detailed applications
from educational institutions, councils and animal organisations around
Australia ," said Weaving. "It's hard to believe that hundreds of
thousands of animals are suffering unnecessarily in a country like
ours, but it's encouraging to see that so many people are trying to
make a difference."
According to Voiceless founders and co-directors, Ondine Sherman and
Brian Sherman AM, the hardest part of the process was selecting the
final recipients from amongst so many worthy submissions. "As a
philanthropic organisation, we judged each submission on its merits and
on its potential to help alleviate the suffering of animals," said
Brian Sherman. "Most of our recipients are unlikely to receive any
financial support for the excellent work that they do and Voiceless is
delighted to help them make a difference."
The grants were selected from three project categories,
Education/Awareness, Consumer Choice and Law/Policy. Voiceless has
awarded $20,000 to the following three recipients;
Animal Liberation ACT, which will be embarking upon a lobbying and
awareness campaign to ban the production of battery eggs in the ACT,
our nation's capital; Compassion in World Farming, the Australian arm
of the world's leading organisation on farmed animal welfare, which
will pilot a range of animal welfare educational material in selected
schools with the aim of developing critical thinking skills and
fostering compassion amongst school children, and Humane Society
International, which proposes to introduce a 'Humane Choice'
certification label for the humane farming of animals.
"The judges were impressed by the energy, vision and commitment
demonstrated by the individuals and organisations devoted to improving
the lives of animals" said Ondine Sherman.
The mission of Voiceless is to promote respect and compassion for
animals, increase awareness of the conditions in which they live and
take action to protect animals from suffering. JM Coetzee, Nobel Prize
Literature Winner in 2003 and author of 'Disgrace', 'Elizabeth
Costello' and 'Lives of Animals' is Patron of Voiceless.
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