Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • April 27, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Notes from Vegan OutreachTeam Vegan 2011!Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! That’s right – May 1 is the official launch of Team Vegan 2011! If you want to join with some of the world’s most dedicated individuals and be a part of this world-changing team, come by TeamVegan.biz. Have questions? All will be answered at TeamVegan.biz! Sign up, complete a profile, and get a donation (of $10 or more) by Friday the 13th (!), and a generous donor will contribute $125 towards your fundraising goal – money that will then be doubled! So be a part of the best of the best of the best today! Thank you so much!
Activist Profile: Amanda SchemkesContinuing our series of activist profiles, today we feature Amanda Schemkes! In 2011 alone, Amanda has handed a booklet directly to 19,136 students, including 1,052 in one day at BYU. Here is an excerpt:
Why do you leaflet? I leaflet because I believe in the value of one-on-one engagement with people about important issues; education and awareness must be at the core of real social change. You never know who you’re going to affect and what impact they will then go on to make – I want to do something that gives people that chance to have their thoughts opened to truly considering animals, and something like an informational booklet can be a great start to that. What was your most positive leafleting experience and why? I love leafleting at Warped Tour, mostly because it’s outreach to young people. I do a lot of leafleting from the Action for Animals booth on tour, and seeing teenagers look at the information can be an incredible experience. There are kids who will stand there and read through the whole booklet; sometimes they’ll end up in tears. Whatever they’re feeling, the emotion is clear on their faces and it’s a very inspiring and humbling experience to watch the moment that a young person becomes aware of what animals go through and know that day changed their life. You can read the full interview here.
From “Your Daily Dose of Vegan Outreach!” & Jack Norris RD Blogs
Product of the Week
Nora: “Youth Empowered Action Camp is expanding this year! Bonus: looks like Eileen Botti will be the cook! And of course all food is vegan.” Please submit your nominees for product of the week via this page; previous entries here.
Notes from Our Members
Becky,
Victoria, Kyle, Jon, and I had
amazing positive encounters at Middle Tennessee
State! I overheard one young woman tell her
friend, “I’m never eating meat again.”
I managed to get a Guide
into her hands. Some students, who initially
rejected lit, returned later and took lit after
hearing about it from other students. One man
walked past but spun on his heels and said,
“Wait… did you say animals? I’ll take
one.” Others took copies for their classes.
Even a number of faculty members took booklets and/or
stopped to talk. Wow,
what an inspiring day of outreach
at Towson University! We met two students today
who said they went vegan from receiving a Vegan
Outreach booklet in the past, had many informative
discussions with students one-on-one, saw students
reading booklets throughout campus, had one
student want to get involved in activism, and
met many vegans and vegetarians. Plus, we reached
over 1,400 students today! Beautiful! Only
a handful of students declined
booklets at the College of the Sequoias, and
I had a very nice discussion with a group of
nursing students. None of them had ever considered
going vegan but they loved their vegetables
and seemed very moved by the plight of farmed
animals. They asked for recipes and ways to
get involved so I gladly obliged. Another student
showed a level of empathy for animals that I
never would have guessed. He talked to me about
the frustration and sadness animals must feel
when they’re locked in cages and denied their
freedom. One young woman was especially excited
to receive a leaflet because it would help her
with a writing assignment. It seems that the
teacher of English 101 and 251 has her students
researching animal welfare.
Cassandra
joined me at the University of
Nebraska, Omaha and leafleted as long as she
could in the cold and wind. One student said
he had been vegetarian before, but wanted to
try again. He got a Guide. There were
several groups of seventh graders touring campus.
As one passed by a second time, a girl said,
“Thanks for that. I really liked that pamphlet.”
Another group’s teacher thanked me on their
second time past. Thank
you for the updates. It was one
of your pamphlets that led me to go vegan. I
consider my contributions to Vegan Outreach
the most meaningful donation that I make. Great
interactions at MiraCosta College!
For example: one man pledged to go veg for at
least a week, and three ladies stopped with
questions, leaving with Guides. One
woman nearly yelled, “Thank you so much
for doing this!” Then I met a young man
who went vegan last semester after receiving
a booklet! Took
a vacation day, and, despite the
snowy and icy roads, got to Eastern Illinois
University by 8:10. Reached 726 students, and
handed out eight Guides and seven AMLs.
One Guide went to a student who let
me know that getting the booklet from us in
the past had moved her to eat meat free three
days a week. Always great to hear people starting
to evolve!
Excellent
reception at Hillsborough Community
College. One student who received a leaflet
said, “Good message!” Another student
looked over the leaflet, came back with her
companion to ask some questions, and then she
exclaimed, “That’s it; I’m not going to
eat meat anymore!” She gave me a hug! Darina
and I had a tremendous day leafleting
Florida State, reaching over 3,500 students with booklets
(including 35 Guides). Students
were very receptive, and we continually sparked
great discussions. Many students were excited
to get the booklet, and thanked us profusely
for doing what we were doing. Darina had conversations
with multiple faculty members who acknowledged
that there was a problem with modern animal
agriculture, and said that they would discuss
the issue in their class. Despite the very cold temperatures, Team Awesome (Cassandra, Marguerite, and I) descended on Baruch College, where a number of people recognized us/ the booklets; e.g., “I don’t eat chicken anymore because of you guys!”
At
St. John’s University, one student came running
up to me, saying to the crowd, “Hey, oh
my god! Here everyone take these! You have to
know about this!” and then turned to me
saying, “You made me vegetarian when you
handed this to me during my freshman year! I’m
working on cutting out dairy and eggs. Thank
you so much!”
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