Enewsletter

Notes from Vegan Outreach

Jon Camp is Coming to Town! Even to Canada!

In late August, Jon Camp, VO’s Director of Outreach, will embark on a two-month college outreach tour through IL, IA, NE, WY, CO, UT, OR, WA, ID, MT, ND, SD, BC, and AB. In order to make this tour as cost-efficient as possible, he is looking for housing in or near the following cities: Kearney NE; Salt Lake City UT; Boise, Pocatello, and Moscow ID; Ellensburg WA; Billings MT; Bismarck ND; and Sioux Falls SD.

Also, Jon would love to meet with your local group and talk about VO’s work and his experiences and insights regarding advocacy. If you would be willing to house America’s Most Courteous Houseguest or would like Jon to speak with your local group, please email jon (at) veganoutreach (dot) org. Thanks!

Animal Activist’s Handbook News

• AlterNet: Why Progressives Should Care About Animal Rights
• Examiner: Effective Advocacy for Animals
• Amazon.com Reader Reviews

Learn more and order for 33% off the cover price!

Products of the Week

Via Runner’s World: Veggie Chili; VO’s version here. Top with Marilyn’s fav, Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative.

Send your product of the week to product (at) veganoutreach (dot) org; previous entries here.

Notes from All Over

Lightning Round

• Tickets Still Available for Vegan Prom
• Majority Of School Nutrition Programs Now Offer Vegetarian School Lunches
• Smithfield "Delays" Gestation Crate Phaseout
• 98% of "Eco-Friendly" Products Make Misleading Claims
• Lettuce From the Garden, With Worms
• Vegan.com:
  • Veggie Advocacy: You Don’t Get to Just Make Sh!t Up
  • Easy Cookbook Recommendations
  • A Vegan Take on Food, Inc.
  • Agribusiness: Too Much is Never Enough
  • Michigan Factory Farmers’ Power Grab
  • Ohio Factory Farms Seek to Change State Constitution

Notes from Our Members

Another great team event with some of the finest activists we are lucky to have in Chicago. We gave out more than 500 booklets in about an hour.
     To me, there is so much more to leafleting than mechanical passing out of pamphlets. Each one of us is no less than a spokesperson, a face and a voice of the movement, an individual who changes people’s hearts. What can be more exciting?
—Darina Smith (at right, being the animals’ spokesperson at the University of Buffalo), 6/8/09

Thank you so much for writing Handbook! How I wish there was a book like this around years ago. It would have saved me from making many of the mistakes you discuss in the book. There is such a need for this book. I can’t say enough about how helpful the book is.
—NS, 6/21/09

Saturday night, I had an opportunity to go to do some vegan outreach at South Beach with my 11-year-old daughter and my vegan friend and her 10-year-old vegan daughter. When I first got there, I had a major anxiety attack, thinking, "I can’t do this, I can’t do this." Once someone actually accepted a pamphlet, that feeling went away. I remember thinking what an awe-inspiring experience it was, just being there. It was truly overwhelming.
     My daughter at first didn’t even want to go and fought me over it. But I told her it would be an unforgettable experience, not to be missed. Well, it turns out not only was it unforgettable but it was also life-changing: about halfway through, she decided, right then and there, to go vegan! Thanks for everything!
—Ivy Bagnall, 6/24/09

I’m almost finished with Handbook. I have not been a strong activist. Your book is inspiring me to take that next step. I’m getting active in my local animal rights group and I plan to get involved in leafleting. Thanks for writing the book; I expect it will lead to many more vegetarians/ vegans through people like me!
—JW, 6/18/09

Piedmont High School is in the richest part of Oakland and the kids at this small high school are picked up by a long line of Mercedes, BMWs and Priuses. With high schools (and colleges) like this, I prepare myself for a barrage of snobbery and attitude, but these kids were friendly, polite and receptive. I had a decent acceptance rate, good access to students, and positive conversations. No leaflets on the ground and many students were thrilled at the idea of helping animals and preventing cruelty.
—Brian Grupe, 6/8/09

Our first vegan bake sale was a great success – we raised hundreds of dollars for Vegan Outreach, handed out hundreds of VO booklets, answered a ton of questions, and gave people that were trying to become vegan lots of encouragement! I wish you could have heard some of the great conversations. Met a lot of new people, and collected about 15 names and email addresses of people who wanted to do leafleting and tabling. The ripple effect from this bake sale, just in this area, will be amazing. I think people were very comfortable talking to us and asking questions – it was a very nonthreatening environment. What can I say about Vegan Outreach? You are all the best!! Thanks again for all you do. We need more people like you!
—Becky Koechell, 6/27/09

Tonight in Chicago, lots of people gave us the thumbs-up and said they were already veg. One girl stopped to show me her necklace which said "vegan" and I gave her a hearty "Right on!" I also had one lady get a Why Vegan?, which I noticed she was reading a little ways away. She came back and asked for 6–7 more, to give to friends and coworkers. She told me she was not yet vegetarian, but that I had just helped her take a huge step in that direction.
—Mikael Nielsen, 6/9/09

Texas beachgoers show off their new booklets, c/o Casey Constable.

"Letter to a Young Matt" is an incredible speech – very inspiring!
—Jean Bettanny, 6/23/09

Of all the email newsletters I receive re: animals, yours is the best. You provide the most relevant and interesting issues. I open most of your links in tabs, and read them one by one, bookmark them and then send out tweets.
—SC, 6/27/09

Vegan Outreach is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the suffering of farmed animals by promoting informed, ethical eating. All donations are tax-deductible. Vegan Outreach POB 30865, Tucson, AZ 85751-0865