Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • May 25, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Notes from Vegan Outreach
Team Vegan Powers AheadAs you can see, the amazing members of Team Vegan have already raised half of the $75,000 matching challenge! This week, we’d like to highlight (in alphabetical order) the first half of the returning members of the Team: Nick Altmann, Julie B, Brandon Becker, Catherine Berlot, Jeff Boghosian, Kristi Capone, Kellie - Boulder Cupcake, Jasmine Flowers, Jim H, Laura Hart (see below), Rachel Haven, and Erin Gaines. If you would like more people to learn the truth behind meat, eggs, and dairy, and start taking action for the animals, you can make a tax-deductible contribution to any of these members (or the people in the feedback section below, or via the Team Vegan general donations page). And your donation will be doubled, dollar for dollar! So please, click over to TeamVegan.biz, support a team member, and help take the animals’ message to more people! Thanks so much!
From “Your Daily Dose of Vegan Outreach!” & Jack Norris RD Blogs
Product of the Week
On her Team Vegan page, returning member Laura Hart offers: “I am designing and making beaded and hammered wire jewelry to sell. If you would like a pair of earrings, bracelet, ankle bracelet, or zipper pull (VO themed or otherwise), please contact me and we can figure out something to suit your tastes. I am currently making a pair of earrings for Nikki (right); you can be next.” Please submit your nominees for product of the week via this page; previous entries here.
Notes from Our Members
At
Chaffey College, Professor Dan
Mages asked me to bring vegan literature to
his “Is Eating Meat Ethical?” debate.
His main argument was that our society has compassion
schizophrenia in that most people who don’t
support the suffering of animals are fueling
it anyway. He worded it beautifully. When the
debate ended, I shouted to the crowd that if
they wanted info on a vegetarian diet, come
see me, I have Guides. Within seconds, there were lines of people coming
at me from everywhere. Whoa! Even
in the rain and fog, it was a
great day at Appalachian State, where I reached
over 2,400 students. Good interactions, including
a student who came up to me and said, “This
is a great booklet (Even If You Like Meat).
Not everyone can be vegan, but they sure can
reduce suffering by eating less.” Big
day of outreach with lots
of help from (Team Vegan members) Jeni
and Nora!
At Skyline College, a math professor informed
us that they spent their period talking about
animal cruelty because of the booklets. I had
a nice chat with one guy who said he wanted
to go vegan and I gave him lots of tips and
recipes. Conversion!
I
was having one of those days when
I thought, “Why do I have to go out to
leaflet when others just get to stay home?”
I had to remind myself that it’s not about what
others are doing, but that the animals are suffering,
so I forced myself to go. And I’m SO GLAD I
did! A half hour or so into leafleting, I was
thinking, “I have to get out here more often!”
The receptive crowd really lifted my spirits!
I had good seed-planting conversations and saw
lots of people reading their Compassionate
Choices. Definitely time well spent! Cory
and I reached almost 1,500 students at
Northern Illinois University. Many students
remembered receiving the booklet last semester;
between the two of us, we had seven people come
up to us and say that they got the booklet last
semester, read it, and decided to either go
vegetarian or drastically reduce the amount
of meat that they eat! We also met a surprisingly
large number of vegetarians, handing out over
20 Guides! A drop into the 20s again on Friday meant breaking out the
heavy-duty layers, but I reached 750 students
at Berklee College of Music. One woman ran up
to me to let me know that a VO leaflet from
an earlier semester had turned her vegan! Then
today, I beat the rain at Boston College and reached 1,088 students; one told me it was
a VO booklet from an earlier semester that made
her go veg! Keep it up everyone!
Aleta, Teresa,
and I had a good take rate at Wesleyan University.
One student said he received a pamphlet from
me last semester, and he and his fiancée have
almost eliminated meat from their diets, and
are going to become organic farmers! After reading
the Even If You Like Meat pamphlet,
a student told Teresa that it made her cry,
and she will never eat meat again! That’s what
I’m talking about! While leafleting the My Chemical
Romance concert, one person told
me that his best friend has now been a vegan
for four years after receiving
a booklet. I also overheard another person telling
her friend about how a person that they know
in common became vegetarian as the result of
the booklet.
Interesting interactions
at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. For
example: one woman said she had tried to go
vegetarian several times before, but she would
slip up and then just give up. I said not to
worry if she made a mistake, that it wouldn’t
have to affect the rest of her diet. I suggested
she take it one step at a time and that she
would get to the same place. She seemed committed
to trying again and was happy to have a Guide. About 90% acceptance rate
at the mostly Latino University of Texas, El
Paso, where I reached 1,000 students. A number
of people came back to ask questions or mention
how they were moved by the booklet. Great
take rate at Rutgers; the booklets
are widely recognized now. Several folks reported
going vegetarian / eating less meat because
of a booklet!
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