Enewsletter
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Enewsletter • June 1, 2011 | ||||||||||||||||
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Notes from Vegan OutreachAmazing! All-Time Record!Adopt a College activists have now handed booklets to 664,112 students at 778 colleges during spring semester! This breaks the fall 2008 record of 659,221!
Thank you to everyone whose incredible hard work made this possible! As was pointed out on the blog, we’re all a part of this work, not because it’s the “sexiest” or the most immediately rewarding, but because it has the greatest long-term payoff for the animals. We’re always looking to have the absolute biggest impact per hour spent and dollar donated. The latter is an important point worth keeping in mind. AAC distribution has, more or less, tracked the economy. Distribution grew and grew until reaching a peak in the fall of 2008; with the collapse of the economy, donations to VO fell off and we were no longer able to print and distribute as many booklets. This new record is, of course, a testament to the incredible efforts of our amazing leafleters, but also to all the donors who made 2010’s end-of-year fundraising our best ever. Your contributions are what printed and shipped the 664,112 booklets that have made their way into the hands of students all across the country. Thanks so much to everyone who has been a part of this amazing accomplishment. It isn’t something “Vegan Outreach” has done – it is literally the work of all of us, leafleters and donors. And thanks to everyone who has joined and/or given to Team Vegan! Your dollars today absolutely will reach more students tomorrow, creating the fundamental change we all want!
Team Vegan Works for the FutureThis week, we’d like to highlight (in alphabetical order) the second half of the returning members of the Team:
Caroline Jones, Todd Lee, Mark Middleton, Stephanie Miller, Jesse Miner, Jessica Morris, Aimee Osterhus, Vegan QTs: Queenie and Sean, Andrew Rodriguez, Team Sacramento, Darina Smith, Melissa Swanson, Kenny Torrella, Team Triangle. These dedicated folks are working hard to make sure that, during next semester, VO activists reach as many new people as possible! 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 WeekReturning Team Vegan member Caroline Jones: “From now until all my Etsy items are sold, I will be donating 100% of the profits of anything in my store to Team Vegan.” Please submit your nominees for product of the week via this page; previous entries here.
Notes from Our Members
Wow, Las
Lomas High has really come along! This
is my third time here in 2.5 years and the kids
were a lot more apathetic and some even a little
snooty about the issue the previous two times.
But today, so many of the kids were really excited
to get the leaflets once they heard it was about
animals. Lots of, “Yeah definitely,”
“Oh cool!” and “Thank you!”
I met one vegetarian and one ex-vegetarian who
really wants to go back. I gave her strategies
for dealing with family members in a welcoming
and productive way. An awesome use of 1.5 hours! Reached
1,200 students at the University
of Florida. After reading a booklet, one student
said he plans to start a blog about the information.
Another student gave positive feedback about
the leaflet and VO’s approach. He said that
other groups have turned him off, but he thanked
me for the information and shook my hand. The
best part of the day was when a student came
back to me and exclaimed, “It’s official!
I’m going vegetarian because of you.” She
said the photos really got to her, especially
the photo of the dying piglets in the gas cart.
We
had an all-time high of 30
activists come out to First Friday’s outreach;
together, we reached 4,631 people! We met an
absurd number of veg*ns, including numerous
who said they went veg after reading the booklet!
Even met a Navajo who wants to set up some outreach
with his people on the reservation.
Some
really great conversations at
Howard County Community College. Had the opportunity
to introduce both my wife and a close friend
to activism. Everyone was really positive and
enthusiastic – we had four or five people thank
us for being there and for what we were doing.
Reached
800 students at Fresno State,
and had plenty of good conversations. After
getting a booklet, one girl squealed and said,
“I’m never eating meat again!!!” Tamara,
Amanda, and I set a one-day record
for any school in New Mexico – 1,550 at UNM.
The highlight of the day came at the very end
when Jasmine, a thoughtful and cheerful young
woman, let me know that it was getting a booklet
on campus a year ago (kudos to Casey Constable
for his work that day) that led her to go veg.
She said the booklet was “fair,”
and that it made a compelling case without resorting
to outrageous claims or self-righteousness.
She has since shown the booklet to multiple
friends and they have said the same thing.
Cassandra
and I reached 600 students at
Queens College. Almost everyone was very receptive,
and we heard many supportive comments. One student
in particular called back, “I’ve been vegetarian
since the last time you were here, from reading
that!” Sen
joined me at the University of
Wisconsin, Stout. We got great feedback, including:
“I got one last year. It was very informative”;
“I gave up meat for Lent. Now (holding
up the booklet), I’m pretty sure I’m giving
it up for life”; “I got one of those.
They’re awesome”; “I got one of those
in the fall. That stuff’s awful.” What
a day at Southwestern College!
One of my first leaflet recipients ran back
to me saying she and another girl are giving
presentations on animal cruelty and they need
resources. I told her a bunch of links to visit
and gave her 15 leaflets for her classmates.
A security officer was going to write me a citation,
until he called in and found out there was nothing
to charge me with. We talked for a while, and
he left with a Guide!
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