Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • July 30, 2008 | ||
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Notes from Vegan OutreachHeroes Put Us Over The Top!
As Stephen Colbert says: You are the heroes! Every week this month, dozens and dozens of you gave generously, helping more and more people learn the animals' plight. Thanks so much to everyone who contributed! Huge thanks to the original challenge donor, and a special thanks to John and Fany, who once again stepped up to make sure we met our goal. Summer distribution (see below) is already setting records, and we are hard at work to make fall 2008 the biggest semester yet!!
Not a Lazy Summer!Already this summer, Vegan Outreach activists have handed out over 275,000 booklets at concerts, fairs, and other venues across North America. See the full list here -- note how many individuals are already over 1,000 for the summer! You, too, can get involved today -- just visit the AAC site for more information. 15-year-old Alysa Cortes leaflets Taste of Pinellas in Florida.
Why Vegan PrintingVegan Outreach will be printing a batch of Why Vegan in mid-August. If you are interested in getting your group's logo on the back, please contact Jack at jack (at) veganoutreach (dot) org by August 3rd. Also, please let Jack know if you'd like to be informed about future printings of Even If and/or Compassionate Choices. Prices start at 10 cents per booklet plus shipping. Please note: we cannot do this for companies, only nonprofit organizations.
Links of the WeekA set of talks presented by Matt Ball at Their Lives, Our Voices, last month in Minneapolis.
Notes from Our MembersToo many great stories
from SMART's leafleting at Warped
Tour Detroit to list here. One example:
Kim offered an Even If You Like
Meat booklet to a couple. The
man took it, but the lady said,
"We don't want this,"
while throwing it to the ground.
The man said, "Actually, I
do want it," and picked it
up. "Do you think it will make
a difference? They are dead anyway!"
He replied, "Maybe if we eat
less there wouldn't be as many that
would have to die." Then she
went on saying to Kim that she didn't
eat veal. Kim showed them the pictures
of the other animals in the booklet.
The lady changed her attitude completely
and said, "Maybe I'll try not
to eat as much meat."
Jessica Dadds leaflets at the Mississippi Avenue Street Fair in Portland, OR. The sand castle festival
was one of Team Portland's best
events ever in terms of numbers
and interesting interactions. For
example, a woman said her conscience
has been tormenting her ever since
she got one of our brochures at
a festival in Portland last summer.
Being confronted with a brochure
again, she said she was finally
ready to "do something about
it." I offered her a GCFE,
which she accepted with a big smile,
because "cooking is better
than being so sad." Also, an
elderly man came back 20 minutes
after I leafleted him, saying he
wanted to go veg as a direct result
of what he had just learned. I gave
him a GCFE and literature
about our local group, and we had
a good talk. Heard great feedback
tabling at TAFA.
A nice young man came up to buy
a shirt, and mentioned that he came
to veganism by being handed an Even
If You Like Meat booklet at
Northern Illinois University (by
Joe Espinosa). The approach laid
out in the booklet seemed feasible,
so he gave it a try. He liked it
and went vegan. Later, Linda came
up to let me know that she had approached
our table last year, and asked if
she was too old to leaflet colleges.
I told her that she wasn't and that
being friendly and sincere mattered
much more than age. Since then,
she's been doing college leafleting
in the Boston region. She thanked
me and plans to continue on with
leafleting this upcoming year. Chef Nikki Benoit and Dancing Banana Jodi Chemes brighten up Clearwater, FL. I saw your horrific
pictures showing
how animals are kept to be food.
I cannot forget the tortured look
in their eyes. I will be eating
less meat, and would like your Guide,
and more booklets to distribute. Leafleting the Niagara
Falls tourist crowd,
a number of people were excited
about receiving a booklet. I could
see people still reading the leaflets,
even when they were far down the
street. I saw one lady approach
me, reading one I must have given
her when she had passed me going
the other way. Thanks for the articles
How
Vegan and On
Being Vegan. Excellent. I saw
myself in the example about obsessive
vegans turning others off to the
whole idea of veganism. Guilty.
And it's funny because I'm expecting
the book of ingredient lists in
the mail any day now. But you're
right and I'm going to try and stop
the obsessing over ingredients,
and focus on the animals. I had a good reception
at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
despite having been there 2X before
this summer. I heard from 15 vegetarians
and 4 vegans. I talked with a student
who plans to do a class presentation
on farmed animals, so I pointed
out the strong citations in the
VO booklets. I also watched two
separate students stop dead in their
tracks reading the booklets. 
Having reached one Warped concertgoer in Charlotte, Eleni Vlachos goes for the next. Leafleting downtown
Chicago, two different
people said to us while pointing
to the leaflet, "That right
there! That was why I went vegetarian!"
Which makes it really hit home that
we are all making a difference,
literally one leaflet at a time!
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