Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • September 29, 2010 | ||||||||||||
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Notes from Vegan Outreach
Activist Profile: John BowersContinuing our series of activist profiles, we meet a man not afraid of the cold, John Bowers. Since we started keeping track, John has reached over 34,000 individuals with VO booklets! Here’s an excerpt: What was your most positive leafleting experience? Quite literally every leafleting experience is extremely positive in that I know that I am reaching hundreds of people who are in the very same place I was at their age. I help people find truth. By that, I mean that many people don’t come to really know their innermost values and the related implications of their lifestyle on the world until confronted by information that raises questions not generally asked elsewhere in society. A number of times I have received a hug or handshake from someone with a tear in their eye, thanking me for doing this work. Those moments of intense emotional connection are among my most personally positive experiences. What would you say to individuals hesitant about leafleting? Humans are amazing in our ability to justify our actions or inactions, including coming up with reasons not to leaflet. Perhaps the biggest struggle is to set these reasons aside and start by spending one hour of one day to hand out some booklets. By actually getting out there, a person can see just how easy and rewarding this work can be. I should also mention that Vegan Outreach and their team of volunteers provide wonderful support.
From “Your Daily Dose of Vegan Outreach!” Blog
Product of the WeekJohn: “Last week I purchased this vanilla ice cream and found it to be heavenly!” Please submit your product of the week via this page; previous entries here.
Notes from All OverLightning Round
Notes from Our Members
At the DC VegFest,
I heard from five – yes, five! – individuals
who are now veg as a result of receiving a Vegan
Outreach booklet in the past. I got pictures
of two: Charlotte (right) and Kathleen (below),
who has now been vegan for 10 years. I am feeling very blessed to
be getting into leafleting; I can see that it
is a very important way to spread the message.
Previously, I thought activism had to involve
running around and shouting in people’s faces
that they are evil for eating meat. But the
feedback I got was not very positive or productive
(duh), and left me at home crying about my inability
to help animals. With peaceful leafleting, I
feel I can reach so many more individuals and
have a much bigger impact, and so I am really
glad that I discovered Vegan Outreach.
Great times at Antelope
Valley College and College of the Canyons today, where I reached a total
of 1,579 individuals. Many students want to rise up and get involved!
While leaving Antelope Valley, an editor with the student paper asked
if she could do a piece on this issue, maybe even follow up with a
video screening / vegan feed in! The Warped Tour has
to be one of my favorite events of all year
– so much fun and very successful! We reached
4,100 people. I don’t think the eight of us
could have handed out any more; the last hour,
almost every single person said they already
had one. At Laney College,
a guy turned around to give me back the brochure,
saying he got one last semester and doesn’t
eat meat. I asked him if it was the brochure
that changed his mind and he said yes! He happily
accepted a Guide.
Later, at the College of Alameda, one young
lady told me she had received a brochure at
City College of SF last year (from me!) and
it convinced her to go vegan. She also happily
received a Guide.
The acceptance rate today
at Allan Hancock College was off the charts,
and not one booklet was on the ground. I witnessed
many people flipping through the pages, some
reading intently. One rather large, somewhat
intimidating fellow accepted a leaflet and then
said, “Aww, now you are going to make me
stop eating meat!” as he flipped though
the leaflet shaking his head in disgust. One
young man stopped to tell me that it was this
leaflet that turned him veg about eight months
ago! (Go Brian!) He was happy to take a Guide.
Another Guide went to a young lady
who had been veg for two years, but went back
to eating meat. We talked awhile; feelings
were definitely coming to the surface. She would
not take an Even If You Like Meat because
she couldn’t look at the pictures. I explained
that these images also keep me up at night,
and that is why I have to do something about
it. The interaction today may have put her back
on track. Handed
out 610 Why Vegans and
102 Guides at the Janmastami Festival,
a large gathering of Indian Americans. I also
gave a bunch of booklets to the Society of Peace
for their table by the entrance. About 20 “I
am vegan” responses, and lots of vegetarian
families got Guides.
Handing out Even
If You Like Meat booklets outside the Ringling
Brothers’ Circus was a lot of fun. Circus-goers
kept on coming up to me really excited! A protester
said that a Vegan Outreach leaflet made her
decide to go veg! At Fullerton
College, several students wanted
to get involved and signed up to leaflet or
join the animal rights club-in-the-making!
One student read through the leaflet and said
to her friend, “I’m going vegetarian.”
Another student read through the leaflet and
said, “This is so sad!” I saw him
read it over a couple of times and then share it
with his friend. One guy stopped to say he liked
meat too much. I said, “If you eat a little
less you can help reduce the suffering of animals.”
He said, “You’re right. God bless you for
what you’re doing.”
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