| This
issue sponsored by Vegan
Essentials.
Notes from Vegan
Outreach
Activist Profile:
Susan Rattenbury
Continuing our series of profiles,
here are some excerpts from Susan
Rattenbury's:
 What
made you decide to start leafleting?
Two things inspired me to leaflet:
The Vegan Outreach E-newsletter,
with the stories at the bottom of
each, and reading "A
Meaningful Life."
Then someone posted to our local
discussion group a leafleting "event"
in the city and I thought it was
time to give it a try. My big regret
is not starting sooner. I was hooked
immediately. As far as nervousness,
the best cure for me is to start
leafleting as soon as I get to the
location. I leaflet the first person
I see and it's all downhill from
there. It's kind of like a diving
board; the more I hesitate, the
harder it is.
What was your most positive
leafleting experience this year
and why?
Positive encounters represent the
vast majority of interactions I
have when I leaflet. Some highlights
include meeting the President of
the Social Justice Club at Hayward,
who is incorporating animal rights
into their semester calendar. I
also have probably met at least
one student per school visit who
said they did a class presentation
on factory farming.
What would you say to individuals
hesitant about leafleting?
1. Read this
Adopt-A-College web page.
2. Find a partner and set a date,
time and place to go.
3. Don't worry about having to answer
questions or engage in conversation
(unless you want to).
3. Leaflet the first person you
see.
4. And keep this estimate
at the forefront: "We convince
about 5 students to go vegetarian
for every 200 booklets we hand out."
Read
the entire profile here!
"I accomplished two goals
this summer: finished a 100
mile race and raised money for
Vegan Outreach. I learned a lot
through this experience. Through
all of the countless hours I spent
running, I feel I was able to do
something positive for the animals
while enjoying one of my favorite
sports. I combine my running with
activism, and it definitely works.
It's quite simple: I wear a shirt
that says VEGAN, and that catches
people's attention. It is apparent
we have been making progress, because
I notice a lot more people who are
familiar with veganism. Thanks to
all of you for your support and
your work for the animals!"
Product of the Week
Brian: I would like to recommend
the Smart
Balance omega peanut butter.
It tastes great, has omega-3
fatty acids, and is labeled as vegan.
Send your nominees for Product
of the Week to product
(at) veganoutreach (dot) org;
previous products can be found here.
Feedback from Our
Members
Leafleting at Hawthorn
Street today, I had
many great encounters:
- An older woman said to me as
she walked by, "It's very
good. I've already read it."
- A girl said, "I'm already
vegan. I'm glad you're doing this."
- A guy (whom I had given a pamphlet
to 30 min earlier) said, "Thanks
for being out here."
- A guy took a Why Vegan,
and the girl he was with looked
at it and said, "I love these!"
- A man with a little girl (I
think she was around 4 yrs old)
came up to me. The man said, "She's
vegetarian and she'd like to have
one of your pamphlets." I
gave her a GCFE.
She looked up and gave me a very
cute smile. :)
-Jessica Dadds, Portland,
OR, 8/12/07
I had been loosely
following the Hallelujah
diet before I received your pamphlet
in DC. The pamphlet really motivated
me to be more strict with my food
and to get totally off meat. I had
originally started the diet just
for nutrition reasons. I had no
idea that there was such a thing
as factory farming and I'm 45 yrs
old! So the word needs to get out.
-RN, Pasadena, MD, 8/13/07
At the Boston Warped
Tour, I gave an EIYLM
to this one girl, and she came back
and asked excitedly if she could
help pass them out, and I said,
"Yes, I have a whole box over
there" and pointed. She grabbed
some and quickly went off approaching
people and handing out the pamphlets
as she disappeared into a crowd.
It's always great when you randomly
meet someone who wants to help out.
-Dan Holbert, 8/12/07
After leafleting the
Warped Tour stop there,
I left Pittsburgh today feeling
more accomplished than I have in
any single day of leafleting in
the last several months. The kids
were surprisingly pumped to get
brochures, the place was crawling
with vegetarians. I met so many
veg*ns and so many kids who were
already familiar with the material,
via college leafleting or other
Warped Tour dates or videos and
websites. Despite my absolute exhaustion
and my extreme sunburn and the fact
that my clothes were filthy, I was
glowing when I left at
8:00 pm because I ran out of booklets.
Everybody who does this work is
absolutely amazing.
-Jenna Calabrese, 8/8/07
Thank you for your
truly great pamphlets. I
have started holding Kind Food stands
in malls in my area (Cape Town,
South Africa) and the response has
been very positive. I believe that
everything you do in America affects
the rest of the world, so keep at
it.
-Karen Johnson, 8/12/07
After leafleting
at the Galleria Mall, Eugene Khutoryansky
noted that, among the many vegans
he met, one was from Nigeria. "She
was very VERY happy to see me passing
these pamphlets out, and she talked
to me at great length. I asked her
if it is hard to be a vegan in Nigeria,
and she said no. I also met another
vegan today from Argentina."
Stewart Solomon adds: "When
leafleting the Rock the Bells concert,
a pedestrian said, 'No thanks. I
got one of those in Columbia. I'm
vegan.'"
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P.O. Box 30865
Tucson, AZ 85751-0865
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