Andy MacKenzie is one of the Adopt a College program’s most dedicated volunteers. He’s leafleted 22 different campuses this semester, directly handing Vegan Outreach booklets to more than 17,000 students!

Below is Andy with Hector, a Mt. San Antonio College student who now wants to go vegan!

Absolutely phenomenal day at Fullerton College. I would do it for free. I gave two fairly long impromptu speeches to a group of nine at first, and then another five. They were really special interactions, and made my month. The first group was just beyond great. I loved these kids.

Andy was great as usual. He saved a woman who was getting beaten last night, and today was a rock. Also he’s constantly picking up trash; and after volunteering, he bikes to cook for Food Not Bombs, four days a week.

One student came back to Andy and asked for 10 booklets to show friends and family. Another came back to ask for literature to show classmates. Andy gave a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating to a man with protein questions.

We saw a good amount of readers and met really great kids today. I feel we had an impact on many, and hopefully many more that we never got to speak with.

—Vic Sjodin, 11/11/14

Make a special, year-end contribution for the animals by December 31 and receive dollar-for-dollar matching! All donations to Vegan Outreach are fully tax-deductible.

Joe Espinosa is this semester’s most prolific Adopt a College volunteer. He’s traveled to 13 different schools this fall, directly handing Vegan Outreach booklets to more than 17,000 students!

Despite his full-time job as a social worker, Joe has consistently put in long hours on his days off in order to inform people of the plight of farmed animals. Earlier this month, Joe spent 7 continuous hours (his record is 14 hours straight!) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, handing out 666 Even If You Like Meat booklets:

My third run at this school for the semester yielded about what it always does, about 100 booklets per hour. I heard from 4 vegans and 10 vegetarians. Early on I spoke with a student who stated that she does not eat beef and pork. I delivered the tough news that due to their smaller size, birds suffer in the highest numbers (and intensity), so dropping chicken and turkey flesh was a very impactful move to spare animals from suffering. She got a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating.

—Joe Espinosa, 12/2/14

Through December 31, Your Donation to VO = 2x More Booklets = 2x More Vegans = 2x More Animals Spared!

Kassy Ortega, VO’s Washington, DC Outreach Coordinator, has leafleted 45 different schools this semester, handing out over 34,000 Vegan Outreach booklets!

Above are Mia Amado and Kassy with the George Mason University mascot. Mia, a vegetarian freshman, was inspired to join in when she saw Dave Mosick and Kassy leafleting her school; and she’s now interested in starting an animal advocacy club on campus!

I had two great conversations at Millersville University: one with a student, Hailey, an understandably “angry vegan,” and one with another student who was excited to get the booklet and wants to go veg! I explained to Hailey why it’s so important for animals that we remain positive and advocate for animals, despite our unfortunate circumstances. I told her to remain hopeful – that if someone like her in Central PA can go vegan, so can other students at her school – and that she should be a positive activist (no one wants to join / listen to a group of negative people). My other conversation was with a non-veg student [below] who came up and told me he was inspired and now wants to start cutting meat from his diet. (See, Hailey! Hope!)

—Kassy Ortega, 10/9/14

Inspire more students to go veg: Give to Vegan Outreach by December 31 and your donation will get VO booklets into the hands of twice as many young people!

Guest Post by Shani Campbell

In a victory for elephants forced to perform in circuses in Oakland, the City Council voted to ban the bullhook, after four hours of debate that lasted into the wee hours of the night. A bullhook is a weapon resembling a fireplace poker that is used to train elephants through brutality, pain and fear. The main opposition to the bill, not surprisingly, was Feld Entertainment, Inc. parent company of Ringling Brothers Circus. The Teamsters also made an appearance voicing their fear of job loss. A presentation was given showing numerous undercover videos of elephants being brutally beaten with bullhooks, including undercover video of Ringling handlers abusing their elephants taken by PETA in 2009. One of the most damning pieces of evidence was a video taken by local activist Deniz Bolbol, where a young elephant named Angelica was beaten by a Ringling Brothers handler while chained by two legs at the Oakland arena.

The bullhook ban will go into effect September 2017, which will allow Ringling Brothers to perform through 2017, as their usual tour through Oakland is in August. Ringling Brothers has stated that without the use of the bullhook, they cannot bring their elephants for performances. In a last ditch bullying tactic, Feld Entertainment threatened to pull all of their shows, i.e. Disney on Ice, Monster Truck, Motocross, etc. from the Oakland arena. With the help of councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan a deal was struck with the Unions to include a phase-out period in the ordinance, enabling the arena to properly prepare for the loss of money.

Local and longtime animal advocates Pat Cuviello and Deniz Bolbol spearheaded this ordinance with the support of the Oakland Zoo, East Bay SPCA, PAWS, PETA, HSUS and the Los Angeles activist who spearheaded the ban in Los Angeles. Oakland City Council Member Noel Gallo sponsored the ordinance and Council Member Dan Kalb signed on as a co-sponsor. City Hall was packed with concerned citizens and animal advocates. Damning testimony given by many representatives of organizations including PAWS, the Oakland Zoo, East Bay SPCA, ALDF and PETA was met with roaring applause.

Council Members Larry Reid and Desley Brooks voted against the ban and Council Member Lynette Gibson McElhaney abstained which is essentially a “no” vote.  Council Member McElhaney was very clear with her opposition on the ordinance, as she recalled Ringling employees to the podium to give them more time to try and defend themselves and continued to ignore the clear evidence of abuse from the undercover videos played. A few arena employees spoke during public comment voicing their concern of loss hours while Ringling brought a few employees to comment.

Both current mayor Jean Quan and future mayor Libby Schaaf stated that the use of animals in circuses for entertainment needs to be a thing of the past and this ban is certainly a great first step. Remember, we still need animal advocates to come out to protest Ringling Brothers circus every summer to educate the public about the severe abuse of animals used by circuses. Let this decision be the first of many cities, that slowly but surely put an end to the exploitation of animals for entertainment. Ringling Brothers has stated that it will continue to fight the Oakland bullhook ordinance and we will be there at every step and battle. We must continue to fight for justice and compassion, and our voices will be heard while old cruel traditions will continue to die.

VO Outreach Coordinator Rachel Black has traveled to 68 different schools this semester, handing out more than 44,000 Vegan Outreach booklets!

Below is Rachel (center) with volunteers Morgan Householder (left) and Jennifer Loughnane (right) at Ohio State University, where they reached more than 1,100 students last month!

At Bowling Green State University, Rachel got Your Choice booklets into the hands of 1,245 people:

I spoke to a middle-aged man today for a long time and by the end of the conversation he said he was going to try vegan seriously. He asked me what to buy at the grocery store, and I told him where he could find great days worth of meal plans online. He seemed excited and confident to live more responsibly.

—Rachel Black, 11/5/14

Now your contribution to Vegan Outreach will create twice as many new vegans: Give to VO by December 31 and double the impact of your donation!

VO Outreach Coordinator Jose Elias has traveled to 68 different schools this semester, handing out more than 50,000 Vegan Outreach booklets!

At Spokane Falls Community College, Jose had help from two on-the-spot volunteers, and together they were able to reach 1,100 students with Even If You Like Meat booklets:

I met Autumn Schmidt [below] and Mohammed while leafleting this morning. Autumn has been a vegetarian for some time now and is ready to start an environmental group on campus that focuses on factory farming! Mohammed (who’s actually not a veghead but thinks animals deserve better) helped me kill it today. Hopefully with this little stint of activism, Mohammed will reconsider his diet!

—Jose Elias, 10/13/14

Create more vegetarians, and more veg activists: Have your year-end donation to Vegan Outreach doubled today!

Kristin Lamy, VO’s Canada Outreach Coordinator, has traveled to 49 different campuses this semester, handing out more than 43,000 Vegan Outreach booklets!

Kristin, John Sakars, Alex Greenwood (above), Ali Pester, and Miranda Bocci reached 4,700 students in a single day at York University’s Keele Campus:

Great, GREAT day! And one that left one (me, anyway) quite pooped. Had a bumpy start when I got stuck in Toronto traffic for 1.5 hours, but John and Alex are heroes and started without me with the leaflets they’d brought until I arrived 30 minutes later.

Students were quite receptive and many stopped to learn more. I met at least 3 vegans who were grateful to learn they’re not alone, and a few vegetarians who were impacted by the information I gave them on the dairy and egg industries.

Great team!

—Kristin Lamy, 10/22/14

Become a member of Vegan Outreach today and receive dollar-for-dollar matching on your donation!

By Jon Camp

We at Vegan Outreach are proud to announce a special milestone! For the first time in our storied 20-year history, we have reached over one million college students in a single semester with the plight of farmed animals!

For the fall semester of our Adopt a College program, over one million of today’s youth were personally handed a Vegan Outreach booklet. We reached students in 48 of the US states, as well as throughout Canada, Australia, Denmark, and Italy.

This was not an easy task. It involved activists putting in thousands and thousands of miles on the road, standing day after day on their feet for hours on end in all weather conditions; and in the case of VO’s Canada Outreach Coordinator, Kristin Lamy, getting stuck in Buffalo for multiple days during a snowstorm.

We’re always hearing from individuals who have gone vegetarian or vegan as a result of our hard work — individuals who never thought much about their food choices and who are now actively working to create a better world for animals, thanks to getting a Vegan Outreach booklet

This accomplishment has been a team effort, and it came about thanks to the legendary dedication of VO’s tireless outreach coordinators and volunteers, the great animal advocacy organizations we team up with, and our thoughtful and generous donors who make this work happen in the first place.

Thanks to everyone who played a role in this historic milestone on behalf of animals!

Vic Sjodin, VO’s Senior Outreach & Strategy Coordinator, has leafleted 60 different schools this fall, handing out more than 43,000 Vegan Outreach booklets!

Earlier this semester, Vic (above, left) teamed with Vegas Veg activists to leaflet the University of Nevada, Las Vegas:

A HUGE, just massive day for this school; great team effort. Together we raised the one-day school record here from 1,450 to 3,290!

Some highlights: I met Brian [below, left], a freshman who read Your Choice and asked for more information on how to make the switch – boom – Guided and encouraged. Shortly thereafter, I met Zack [below, center], a biochem major who had been veg-curious before; he read a booklet and we had a long conversation – boom – going vegan, he said! And Elaine [Vigneault, above] met John, who had already stopped eating pigs and cows and is now working on eating fewer chickens; and Nicole [below, right], who now wants to go veg!

Huge thanks to Elaine for getting local folks out, and for all her efforts to promote veganism locally. Elaine is not playing around and can move some serious lit!

We saw many reading our literature. I’m extremely happy that together we were able to reach so many fertile hearts and minds.

—Vic Sjodin, 10/14/14

Through December 31, your fully tax-deductible donation to Vegan Outreach will create twice as many new vegetarians and spare twice as many animals from suffering!