Dear Gerson friends,

As 2012 winds to a close, I want to thank you for helping Gerson grow this year. It has been a year full of new opportunities. In March, I celebrated my 90th birthday. I was amazed by the outpouring of energy and enthusiasm that I felt from Gerson supporters across the world. The Institute has come a long way since I co-founded it in June of 1978. The clinics have also come a long way from the time when I was driving to Mexico every day, arriving early in case a staff person was absent to ensure that our patients would still have oatmeal and juice on time. I continue to serve on the Board of Directors, and the Institute keeps growing so rapidly that each time I come to the office for a meeting there is a new staff member or office volunteer to greet.

Today:

• We offer our Gerson Basics Workshop to over 250 people each year. This year, we began streaming our workshop online with our newest program, the Gerson Basics Live Stream. Now, we are now able to train and educate many more people around the world, some of whom are too ill or unable to afford to travel here to San Diego. (Update: this workshop is now available as Gerson Basics Online)
• We have more doctors than ever continuing to become licensed Gerson Practitioners
• Our team of Education Specialists answers about 150 phone calls per day, and 635 emails per month, providing the first point of contact and information for the many people who come to us seeking education and support.
• We provide telephone support worldwide through our non-medical coaching service
• We have trained and licensed two professionally-staffed Gerson clinics

What is truly exciting for me, however, is seeing how the “radical” ideas that my father proposed are becoming more and more widely accepted. People are finally waking up to the truth that “food is medicine.” They are taking responsibility for their own health and actively sharing this knowledge with others. I would like to share with you some of the incredible stories I have heard this year of how supporters are taking initiative and spreading the Gerson message in their communities.

Carrots, not Cupcakes

In the spring of 2012, we received an email from a Florida college student who had been walking across campus when he saw a booth with the sign “Cupcakes for Cancer”. A group of well meaning – and in his opinion misguided – students were selling cupcakes to raise money for a large cancer charity. Having just watched a documentary about the Gerson Therapy called The Beautiful Truth, he wanted to do his part to let his fellow students know about the Gerson Therapy. So with educational brochures provided by the Institute and carrot-apple juice, he set up his own booth!

A New Type of Reception Gift

It’s hard not to get excited about weddings, and many of us at the Institute were particularly moved by the decision of two Gerson supporters to make a donation in lieu of the more traditional reception gifts found at wedding dinners. The couple printed up beautiful place cards for their guests letting them know that they had chosen to make a donation in honor of their family and friends to the Gerson Institute. Their loved ones were encouraged to learn about natural healing.

Rock & Roll – Gerson Style

Phil Collen, of Def Leppard, and guitar-maker Jake Willoughby joined together to help raise funds and fans for Gerson. Phil and Jake have both lost parents to pancreatic cancer and chose to turn their personal tragedies into an opportunity for educating others.

During Def Leppard’s recent American tour, Phil played a custom guitar, Wings, which he auctioned off at the end of the tour –raising over $20,000 for our organization! Phil visited the Institute in November to present us with the donation, raising even more awareness about the Gerson Therapy and about Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

But we still face obstacles and prejudice. As many of you know, this September the Institute was disqualified from the Chase Community Giving contest just hours before we were about to receive $10,000 in grant money thanks to votes from our supporters. Chase Bank never gave the Institute a reason. Given the similar experience of other charities, it appears we were disqualified because our mission is still too “controversial” for JP Morgan Chase. In April, world snooker champion Peter Ebdon was heavily criticized for wearing a Gerson logo. The same old accusations of “cancer quackery” were raised once again. It is frustrating to hear the same tired arguments that my father faced so many years ago.

Today, however, we have what my father sadly never lived to see – a growing community that realizes that health is about personal responsibility, that recognizes the need to listen to the body and to nature. A community that is willing to work hard for their health, to resist the “easy fix” in favor of the long, true path of wellness. A community that is willing to give of their time and treasure to spread that message to others.

You are that difference.

As 2012 ends and a new year begins, I hope you will consider making a year-end donation to the Gerson Institute. Your gift helps us continue working for the day when children will find it difficult to believe that a holistic, nutrition based treatment for cancer could ever be considered “controversial.”

I know that day will come. With your help it will come sooner.

Thank you for being a part of the Gerson Community.

The Gerson Institute is a 501 c3 non-profit organization, all donations are 100% tax-deductible. Whether you can afford to give $10 or $1,000, $5 or $5,000, each gift makes a difference! Your gift helps us remain a vital resource for patients battling chronic degenerative diseases, seeking to restore their health through holistic healing.