In a year marked by disruption and change, you kept us going. |

Thank you for your support

YOU AND OXFAM IN 2020.

Graphic: Emily Eberly/Oxfam



Dear Friend,

I'm writing to you today because despite the anxiety, fear, and uncertainty of the last year and even last few weeks, I am so deeply proud of all that we accomplished together in 2020. Most of all, I am humbled by the relentless courage and commitment from supporters like you to make life better for those who have lost so much during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decisive and resilient response of the Oxfam community through a turbulent 2020 gives me tremendous faith in our shared resolve to continue the fight in what is already shaping up to be a world-changing 2021.

The pandemic has drastically increased the need for individuals like you and organizations like Oxfam to do more to fight hunger, poverty, and inequality at home and around the world. Skyrocketing unemployment, a growing hunger emergency, social unrest, a contentious election, and the enormous loss of life from COVID-19 – these are just a few of the devastating realities that touched the communities we serve, and also all of us personally in the Oxfam family.

COVID-19 has been a tragic accelerator of inequality. Those with fewer resources to prevent, manage, and treat the virus are unable to overcome it.

Friend, time and time again, you have put your own worries aside to show up with humility and determination for those struggling the most.

In 2020, supporters like you never stopped taking action: from providing improved access to water, hygiene supplies, cash distributions, and food, to putting on your masks to attend rallies, make calls, sign petitions, and share actions via social media, and so much more.

Your bold actions and determination had real, tangible impact:

Last year, with your help, 19.4 million people around the world benefitted directly from Oxfam's programs. 1.2 million people participated in our gender justice projects thanks to our joint efforts. And, 3.8 million global citizens like you took action in campaigns for social change.

Here are just a few of the ways we made a difference together in 2020:

- Since the pandemic began, you helped Oxfam – together with over 581 partners in more than 63 countries – reach over 11.3 million of the world's most vulnerable people with food aid, livelihood assistance, cash distributions, access to water and hygiene supplies, and resources to prevent gender-based violence, as well as advocate for the health and safety of essential workers. We're making progress to increase that number, with the goal of helping 14 million people through this crisis and joining forces with partners around the world to provide immediate direct aid where it's most needed. In the United States, we're advocating for the government to take steps to help the most vulnerable make ends meet during the pandemic.
- You helped us save lives in disasters like the explosion in Beirut, the cyclones in Asia, and the hurricanes in Central America. Oxfam responded by providing water, food, hygiene kits, personal protective equipment to prevent COVID-19, cash assistance, tools to move rubble, and shelter.
- You joined us as we continued to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen with aid, providing clean water, hygiene kits, and cash assistance. Here in the US, together we pressured the government to end arms sales for the war in Yemen, which President-elect Biden has promised to do in the early days of his administration.
- You protested, signed petitions, and made calls to Congress to put an end to the Muslim Ban, and now President-elect Biden has promised to end the Ban on his first day in office.
- You called on the next US President to prioritize climate change, and the incoming Biden and Harris administration has committed to re-entering the Paris Climate Agreement on day one.
- You delivered a clear message to the biggest US grocery stores, demanding better health and safety protections for their employees during the COVID-19 crisis.
- You supported our efforts as we successfully brought a lawsuit against the Trump Administration in partnership with the ACLU to protect unaccompanied minors' right to seek asylum.
- You brought change through the power of your vote and get-out-the-vote efforts. In spite of voter suppression activities and a global pandemic, a record-breaking 159 million of you made your voices heard at the ballot box.

2020 marked 50 years since Oxfam America's founding. As I look at 2021 as a tipping point in our fight against growing inequality, hunger, and racial injustice, your overwhelming support gives me so much hope for what we will continue to do together in the future.

The change we need in 2021 is possible because of courageous, generous, and kind individuals like you. Change for people like Zimam Germay, a single mother of seven boys in northern Ethiopia. Like thousands of other farmers, she increased her yields, diversified her crops, and secured access to loans and insurance thanks to Oxfam's R4 Initiative. "My life really restarted with this project," she told us. Your generosity enabled this program, benefitting more than half a million people.

I am both grateful for your support and energized and inspired by the opportunities that lie ahead in this new year. Now is the time to address growing inequality, and usher in a new era of progressive, global, and feminist policies that will prioritize peace, racial and gender justice, climate action, poverty alleviation, and equal opportunity for every single person. Thank you for your resilient and compassionate care.

I wish you health and hope this New Year – and I look forward to working with you to meet this moment of great need, by delivering lifesaving aid and speaking up and advocating for the most vulnerable.

With gratitude,

Abby Maxman

President

Oxfam America

P.S. If you want to read more about what we accomplished together in 2020, please read Oxfam America's 2020 Annual Report. ([link removed] )

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