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Notes from Vegan
Outreach
Last 8 Days to Double
Donation
UPDATE: The goal has
been reached -- thanks!!
July's matching
donation challenge
is nearing its end, with $23,287
raised so far. We only need $6,713
to release the full $30,000 -- you
can help put us over the top!
 We
deeply appreciate everyone who has
had their tax-deductible contribution
doubled. If you would like more
people to learn the animals' plight,
please make a secure donation on-line
via
this page, or send
a check or money order to:
Vegan Outreach
P.O. Box 30865
Tucson, AZ 85751-0865
Please indicate that it is for
the matching drive. Thanks!
Seven-year-old Spencer Sherman
leaflets in St. Petersburg, FL;
photo by Nikki Benoit.
Activist Profile: Eileen Botti
As we've done in the past, Vegan
Outreach is profiling
some of our top leafleters. This
week, we feature Eileen Botti. In
just one incredible semester of
part-time leafleting, Eileen handed
out over 29,000
booklets to college and high school
students in the New York City area!
Here are some excerpts:
What was your most positive
leafleting experience and why?
During my first semester with
Vegan Outreach, a student approached
me with a huge smile on her face
and excitedly said, "Hey, I
just wanted to tell you that you
totally changed my life and I wanted
to thank you. I read the booklet
you gave me a few months ago when
you were here and haven't eaten
any meat since then." I recognized
her and remembered answering some
lengthy questions about veganism
the last time I was at this school.
While I knew that leafleting was
effective, this was the first time
that I saw the direct impact of
a leaflet I handed out, and it was
very empowering.
What would you say to individuals
hesitant about leafleting?
It can be intimidating to show
up to a college all by yourself
with a box of leaflets. I still
get nervous sometimes when I show
up to a big school, but once I get
started, the nerves go away and
I have fun with it! Just be yourself
-- I find I have a lot more fun
when I'm smiling and being friendly,
and that more people take leaflet,
too.
Also, don't worry about being an
encyclopedia of animal rights information
or having a prepared response for
every question someone might ask.
I still get questions sometimes
that I do not know the answer to
-- in that case, I am honest and
just refer them to a GCFE,
or suggest a website for them to
check out.
Remember that college students
are used to having things handed
out to them, and pretty much anyone
can fit in at a college -- young
or old. If it's your first time,
maybe try it out for just a short
time during lunch hour with a small
number of leaflets. It's a great
way to get involved, and I think
you'll really enjoy it!
Read
the entire profile here!
Conference of the Week
 Thanks
so much to everyone who came by
the Vegan Outreach table at Taking
Action for Animals.
Next month, Animal
Rights 2008 will be
in Arlington. Vegan Outreach Co-founder
Matt Ball and Outreach Director
Jon Camp will both be speaking;
other VOers will be there as well.
Please come to our talks and stop
by the table!
Links of the Week
Product of the Week
Eileen: "Raw
Revolution food bars just came
out with 2 new delicious flavors
-- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and
Tropical Mango! Made with raw, whole,
natural ingredients, no refined
sweeteners, and very tasty! Some
of my other favorite flavors include
Chocolate & Cashew and Coconut
& Agave Nectar."
See previous entries here.
Notes from All
Over
Lightning Round
Notes from Our
Members
Nicole Matthews from
PETA recently stayed
at my house (traveling throughout
Ontario promoting KFC's vegan sandwich).
She stressed the importance of activists
"being joy." Today at
the Warped Tour, I made sure that
my smile, body language, and voice
radiated the joy that only a compassionate
lifestyle can bring. Dan [Wilson],
David [Evans], and I reached over
1,500 new people with the message
of compassion.
-John Sakars, 7/20/08
Booklet reading at the Warped
stop in Charlotte; photo by Eleni
Vlachos.
What an awesome day
this was! After leafleting
the farmers' market in Beaverton,
OR, I hit a festival in downtown
Portland. I had a steady stream
of foot traffic all afternoon --
it was a dream come true!
I
also met 6 lapsed vegans in their
late forties and early fifties,
all of whom admitted that they had
long ago written off their vegan
diet as a failed experiment from
their early adulthood (back when
there weren't many pre-packaged
vegan foods, vegan restaurants,
or vegan cookbooks to make things
easier). All six people brightened
when I said that times have changed.
I rattled off lots of cookbook titles,
websites, and supermarket products.
Some of them took notes, which is
always an encouraging sign that
they are sincerely interested.
Only
two brochures were dropped on the
ground all day! A teenage girl picked
up one and immediately began reading
it, fascinated by the subject matter.
-Emily Pepe, 7/20/08
I can't say enough
good things about
Vegan Outreach. When I'm spending
my finite volunteer time -- and
the money of a generous donor --
I want to spend it effectively.
Not only is this literature super-effective,
but the strategy of targeting the
campus/young adult populations makes
sense. Adopt a College really works.
The regular practice of posting
about one's leafleting episodes,
and the positive feedback received
from the other activists, makes
it evident that I'm not alone in
the work -- I'm very much part of
a larger effort.
-Jennifer Greene
At the Soundtrack of
Your Summer Tour,
I unknowingly leafleted the venue's
chef. He said that most of the members
of the band playing tomorrow night
(Jimmy Eats World) are vegan. "You'd
be surprised at how many bands are
vegan." He was trying to figure
out what to make for them. I gave
him a GCFE
and said it contained recipes. This
made him happy. Also:
-A girl asked if she could hand
out some literature, too. I gave
her a stack.
-A woman stopped and said, "Thank
you. I like this brochure."
She asked if I could restock her
coffee house with them.
-I offered a girl a Why Vegan
and she said, "I don't need
one. I'm vegetarian and I'm going
to be going vegan really soon."
-Jessica Dadds, 7/17/08
 Nick
Cooney leaflets Warped Tour; photo
by Jon Camp.
The Warped stop in
Columbia, MD was expected to draw
11,000; the Humane League of Philadelphia,
Ramona, and I handed out 8,650 Even
If You Like Meat booklets.
Ramona estimates that six concertgoers
told her that they are now vegetarian
as a result of receiving a VO booklet
at last year's Warped Tour. Additionally,
one guy mentioned that he has been
vegan since receiving a booklet
at the University of Maryland.
-Jon Camp, 7/16/08
You can see previous
issues of Vegan Outreach's e-newsletter
here.
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Vegan Outreach
P.O. Box 30865
Tucson, AZ 85751-0865
VO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
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