Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • April 1, 2009 | ||||||||
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Nope -- this is not an April Fools' joke -- last week, Vegan Outreach sent out our 10 millionth booklet! This tremendous milestone is the accomplishment of many thousands of individuals who are dedicated to creating a truly better world for the animals. Each and every one of these ten million booklets was printed through the thoughtful generosity of donors who know the importance of funding grassroots outreach. Since our founding, Vegan Outreach has become a powerhouse for creating maximum change for the animals. Although there is much work to be done at all levels, we know that ending the brutality of factory farming and creating a compassionate, vegetarian society won't come from the top down. Rather, it will take the efforts of all of us to bring about a fundamental change in attitudes and habits -- and Vegan Outreach is dedicated to providing the best tools possible to help this happen as efficiently as possible.
How quickly this occurs depends on you. Every day, dedicated advocates are taking booklets to new people, changing lives, saving animals, and bringing us closer to the new world we all desire. In these challenging times, we must maintain our dedication and commitment to our shared vision. We must invest in focused, effective advocacy for the animals.
Your support today will put booklets into more hands! You can use your credit or debit card to make a secure on-line donation, or send your tax-deductible contribution to:
We will all continue to do our absolute best for the animals! -Anne, Jack, Jon, & Matt PS -- Again: thanks
and congratulations to everyone
who contributed to the first ten
million.
We had wonderful days
at McNeese State, University of
Louisiana, Lafayette, and U LA,
Baton Rouge. We were adamantly thanked
by one man for getting the word
out. One woman asked what I was
handing out, and took an Even
If You Like Meat. She returned
about an hour later and said, “I
just wanted to thank you for handing
these out. I was a vegetarian but
stopped a few years ago. Now that
I've seen this I'm going back.”
I thanked her and she got a Guide.
The exact same thing happened to
Rob! Later in the day, we heard
from a student, “After I received
that brochure [Even If]
this afternoon, I went home to my
grandma's, where she gave me baked
beans with ham to eat. I told her
I couldn't eat it, I wasn't hungry.
My grandma was worried that veganism
was some sort of cult, but learning
about this is enlightening.” I spoke with a ton
of students at Southeast
Louisiana U in Hammond. One student
said, "I was wondering when
you all were coming back! I have
been telling people about factory
farms and no one believed me --
I lost the brochure. I'm so happy
you are here." We have been leafleting
and tabling throughout
Ag Week here at NC State. There
was so much feedback on Day 4, including
a big picture of us on the front
page of the campus paper. The
Technician also created an
online slideshow presentation called
"Ag
Week Vegans." Moments after
celebrating these occurrences, an
aspiring vegetarian approached us
to ask for literature to help her
with her upcoming speech to her
public speaking class. She said
that as a result of our advocacy
this week, she decided to deliver
a speech promoting vegetarianism.
We spoke at length and then I gave
her enough literature for everyone
in her class. As she is telling
us all of this, another young woman
comes to our table, with an ear-to-ear
smile, and tells us that she hasn't
been eating meat as a result of
our advocacy and that she, too,
was preparing a speech on vegetarianism
for her public speaking class.
Thank you
for helping people to understand
what these animals are going through!
I have been eating "health
food" for years now, and recently
gave up red meat (for my health).
But when I happened to pick up one
of your pamphlets in a health food
store, it changed my whole outlook
on the importance of making the
right choices. I am now officially
done with meat. I just cried when
I read your pamphlet! I guess we
try not to think about the origins
of our meat, but when you really
see it -- it makes such a difference.
I'm ordering booklets because I
work on a college campus, and want
to help make a difference where
I can. Everyone should at least
be educated about this so that they
can make informed choices! Today the
Penn State Agriculture and Animal
Science students were passing out
free beef jerky and cheese sticks
in protest of Meatout. A group of
us from the Penn State Vegetarian
club spent a few hours passing out
pamphlets. It went very well. When
some kids were offered the beef
jerky, they were disgusted and reacted
with "How do you expect me
to eat this after I received this
pamphlet?!"
At Northern Illinois
U, a student took
a leaflet from me then came back
a few minutes later to tell me that
she has been cutting meat out of
her diet and that this was the push
she needed to go vegetarian. I told
her that was fantastic and gave
her a Guide. Another student
told me that he has switched to
soy milk because of the booklet. UCLA was pretty darn
good, even though
it was winter quarter finals. For
the past few years this school has
been the most hostile place to leaflet
in southern California, but not
any longer. I am now finding it
as friendly as anywhere -- perhaps
we hit a tipping point.
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It's
been a great week for new people
getting involved!
At CUNY -- NYC Technical College,
a student stopped by to help out.
Another student walked around leafleting
outside of the school. At St. John's
University, quite a few students
stopped to ask questions; one wants
to start up a student group! Finally,
at Queens College, I had a number
of great interactions, including
a student who had just watched the
HBO documentary "Death on a
Factory Farm" last night and
said she was just thinking about
all of this! She was brainstorming
about doing a presentation on factory
farming for her sorority. She also
stated that her sorority has been
looking for a way to get involved
with helping animals aside from
the local shelter, and they wanted
to find an organization that would
benefit from them doing a fundraiser!
I told her about how easy leafleting
is, and that it would be a great
activity for her group to get involved
in. She took leaflets and she is
going to try to arrange for me to
speak to the sorority when I return
to campus in May!
The
"Join a Student Club"
fair was in full swing at Mt. San
Antonio College, and I had a great
take rate. One student said to her
friend, "This is why I don't
eat meat." Another student
who had just gone vegetarian got
a Guide to help increase
her recipe collection. Another told
me he got a leaflet at a concert
but wanted to refresh his memory
and pass one on. A mother with 4
children under 10 went by. One of
the kids wanted a leaflet so I offered
a Compassionate Choices,
telling the mother that there were
some difficult images inside. "It's
okay," she said, "They
need to know what is really happening.
Thank you." A professor asked
if I'd return to make an argument
in his argumentation class. A group
from "Meals for Mankind"
and the campus Green Party are trying
to get a veg group started and I
gave them some info. 