Last year we were presented with a crisis and an opportunity, and we asked for your help. The bank that holds the mortgage for our property called in the loan. They asked us to pay $5,000 immediately and the rest - another $15,000 - as soon as possible.

We are proud to announce that with your help we have raised over $18,000 as of December 2009 !

This is living proof of the amazing capacity and commitment of the community that surrounds Jura Books. We all believe that Sydney needs radical change, and Jura is a key part of making that change.

The Save Jura raffle is over and we're happy to say it was a great success - thanks to you! It was a massive effort over six months, with:
--> 3,000 tickets sold.
--> 900 existing supporters contacted (including 750 via email, 200 via facebook, 200 via sms, 80 by phone call).
--> 200 houses door-knocked in our local area.
--> 5,500 letters hand delivered to people in our local area (these letters talked about what anarchism is, as well as Jura and the raffle).
--> 100s of posters put up across Sydney.
--> Stalls held in Newcastle, Glebe, Redfern, Newtown, Helensburgh and more.

All of this was done by a few dozen volunteers - congratulations to all of you who sold tickets, provided prizes and spread the word. And thank you to everyone who donated (hundreds of you) - every contribution helped. We also received a handful of very generous donations from comrades around Australia, Aotearoa, the US, Europe and other parts of the world. Thank you all! It has been very inspiring to experience this living anarchist solidarity.


Through this effort we raised over $13,000! We've also built a stronger community and communicated with literally thousands of people to engage with them about anarchist ideas - many for the first time. When we started the raffle there was $15,000 left on the mortgage and now there is only $2,500! (We had to spend some of what was raised on bills, insurance and interest along the way.) Interest payments are down from almost $200 per month to $91 per month and will soon be even lower. Through collective action, the crisis we faced has been turned into a opportunity and a success for anarchism in Sydney.

And of course congratulations to the prize-winners (you should already have been contacted). Please collect your prizes if you haven't already done so. 1) Rare Political Artwork - Karen Skinner. 2) Jura Books Pack - Sophie Hobbs. 3) Gleebooks Pack - Michael Payne. 4) Co-op books pack - Dayv Roche. 5) Byron Bay Accommodation - Anna Logan. 6) Cupcakes - Liz Shield. 7) Alfalfa house vouchers - Nick Apoifis, Leslie Wilkop, Tom Wilkinson, Bec Stark, and Gina Apoifis 8) Guinness - Peter Sheldon. 9) Funky Pies Vouchers - Jamie Parker, Harrison Swift, Lindsay Hawkins, Russel, Suren Chandrasehera, Alice Wheelwright, Dan, Adam Wolfenden, Jacqueline Besgrove, Vi Phan, Ricki Stevens, Claire Parfitt, Chips Mackinolty, Paul Nunes, Daz S, Natalie and Jenny, Rachel Kitchener, Natalie Millar, Anne O'Brien, and Mari Vagg. 10) Italian Dinner - Lila Contziu. 11) Political Posters Paste-up - Theresa Petray. 12) T-shirts - Neil Hopkins. 13) Hand Made Jewellery - Andrew Jones. 14) TV - Dan Robins. 15) Prize-winning Posters - Liz Turner.

As the end-of-year consumer madness looms, why not consider some radical alternatives? Don't buy new junk as demanded by the unsustainable capitalist throwaway society, instead give your friends and family recycled presents, or gifts that go where they're needed in the majority world (check out Apheda or Oxfam). Alternatively, buy fresh fruit and veg from the Jura food co-op, or a radical book, or make a contribution to our library in someone's name. We've got loads of great stock to choose from! Political diaries and calendars are in stock, including those funky Slingshot Organisers and 3CR Calendars. Jura is open as normal from Wednesday to Sunday PLUS, we're open 2-7pm on Tuesdays until end of 2009, and we'll have a number of stalls around the place - check upcoming events for details. Jura will be closed from Fri 25th Dec to Sun 3rd Jan; we'll re-open on Wed 6th Jan.