Yuri Mitzkewich, VO’s Southeast Outreach Coordinator, has placed booklets into the hands of 57,238 students at 85 different schools this semester!

Above (from left) are Yuri, Jean Paul Grisales, Sarah Kiser, and John Sakars at Florida Gulf Coast University, where they reached more than 3,100 students in a single day – a new record for the campus!

At Hillsborough Community College’s Dale Mabry campus in Tampa, Yuri spoke with several interested students:

Josh [below, left] stayed talking a good 20 minutes at least, taking a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating, as well as other info to read through. Having already tried vegan one time for a short period, he got all the help he wanted towards giving it another go. We also signed up several future volunteers in our time here, and even made contacts to do a presentation for a nutrition class possibly in the spring!

At the Florida Institute of Technology, Yuri and John reached 1,204 students:

We got the literature flowing out fast, and already before 11 am we had beat the previous FIT record. Reception was mostly good, but even better were the amazing conversations we kept having with students. The best one was with Dustin [above, right], who came back to me after checking out his Even If You Like Meat during class. Formerly vegetarian for over a year, he said the info made him remember why he’d chosen to go veg in the first place, and now would be going back. One of many here today inspired, I’m hoping, to make the change!

Yuri teamed with Julie Henry at Florida A&M University, and together they reached 1,000 students:

The highlight was Kerry [below, left], who was impressed greatly by the Compassionate Athlete he got. After talking a few minutes, digging a little deeper into things, he thanked us for being there getting him the info. First confirmed new vegan of the week at FAMU!

On November 18, Yuri and John had a huge day at Louisiana State University:

I was stoked to have the help of LSU’s new AR student crew for the first time ever. Group members Sarah Buckley and April Ahmed came out first, joining during the breaks they had in their morning class schedules. Both did awesome. Just before lunch we were joined by the group president, Jesse Clifton, who was also great getting the info out right from the start. He enjoyed the action thoroughly and now wants to get the group into leafleting regularly.

Jesse even got new group members signed up during the outreach – seven in total, including Carrie [above, right], who reported she went vegan from getting a booklet three years back while attending Tulane University!

With Jesse and crew on hand, we kept the numbers flowing steadily, and by the end had again broken the campus record, only just done here last year: 4,452 reached in total – not just a record for LSU, but the biggest day now in Louisiana outreach so far!

Take advantage of our year-end matching campaign: Through December, Your Donation to VO = 2 × More Vegans = 2 × More Animals Spared!

Kassy Ortega, VO’s Washington, DC Outreach Coordinator, has personally handed booklets to 22,651 students at 25 different schools this semester!

Kassy (above, foreground) and fellow activists (above, from left) Mike Wilson, Chris Guinn, and Julie Sutton emptied several boxes of literature at Virginia Commonwealth University, handing out 4,764 booklets in a single day!

Above are two students Kassy met this fall:

I handed Lydia [left] a booklet on campus. She handed it back and told me she was already vegetarian. I put a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating in her hand and told her that there were vegan recipes inside. After a 15-minute conversation about the dairy and egg industries, she exclaimed, “I’m pretty sure you just made a new vegan today!”

Danielle [right] received a booklet from us last semester and has stopped eating animals!

Right now, you have the opportunity to spare twice as many animals from suffering: Have your donation doubled today!

VO Outreach Coordinator Thomas Goodman (below, left) has personally handed booklets to 23,340 students at 38 different campuses this semester! And longtime Adopt a College activist John Sakars (below, right) is this fall’s most prolific volunteer – traveling with Thomas through Canada and Upstate New York, and later with Yuri Mitzkewich, VO’s Southeast Outreach Coordinator, John has placed booklets into the hands of 54,000 students at 66 different schools!

After reaching 1,050 Dawson College students with John on October 2, Thomas wrote:

Today, more than any day on the tour yet, was filled with so many positive one-on-one interactions with individuals professing their interest in becoming involved with activism in their community.

There were also a few stories I’d like to share: One individual heard from a friend that there were two people handing out literature from VO, and she was inspired to come meet us. Another individual has been leaning toward lessening her meat intake and is going to begin starting Meatless Mondays. Lastly, there was a young man who mentioned he became a vegetarian nearly one year ago to motivate his father to lessen his meat intake for his health. He said that while he did it for his dad originally, he is thinking of now going vegan for animals!

Above (from left) are Yuri, Natalie Boydstun, and John at the University of Florida, where they handed out 4,356 booklets on December 7 with help from Alec Neller and Nick Salamun, breaking the previous campus record set by John and Yuri in October! When John handed a Your Choice booklet to Rosa (above, right), she was excited to tell him that she had already become pescatarian last fall after receiving a VO booklet on campus.

Today, your donation will help twice as many people move toward a vegan diet: Donate now to receive dollar-for-dollar matching!

As of December 4, Steve Erlsten, VO’s Northern California Outreach Coordinator, has already placed Vegan Outreach booklets into the hands of 71,590 students at 99 different schools this semester!

Above is Steve with Taylor Walton, a Fresno State student he met in September:

Taylor stopped by to ask if I needed some help. The second big rush was about to start, so I gave her some booklets and let her hand out as many as she could without much instruction. Once the class change died down I asked if she had leafleted before, and we started talking about activism. When I asked if she was vegan, her response made my day.

She said she decided to go vegan this morning after getting a booklet from me! She had been trying not to think about how the animals are treated, but the booklet made that impossible. On her first day as a vegan she handed out 500 booklets!

When we were finished, she asked to take a photo of me for a class art project. She is going to sketch people who have had an impact on her life – including me.

Taylor not only went vegan and volunteered on the spot, but also joined Steve in setting a new leafleting record for her campus!

Now you can inspire twice as many new vegans – and new vegan activists: Have your donation matched today and double your impact for animals!

VO Outreach Coordinator Lori Stultz has personally handed booklets to 52,082 students at 67 different schools this semester!

Lori kicked off the semester in California, where she single-handedly reached more than 5,500 students her first three days in action! Below (from left) are a couple of the students who were inspired to go vegan after receiving booklets at Cerritos College; and Conner, a new vegetarian Lori met at SUNY New Paltz: “He said that he hoped to one day make the full transition to an animal-free diet. When I offered him a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating, he said it was exactly what he needed at this point in his journey.”

In October, Lori teamed with Adopt a College volunteers Steph Chocko and Kathy Carlsson at Stony Brook University, where they reached 2,000 students in a single day: “One student came back to us after receiving a Compassionate Choices booklet, floored by the information. He told us he’d never eat another pig, especially after reading about Emily. He was about to go home and make oatmeal for breakfast and asked us what he should use in place of cows’ milk. I gave him a Guide and had an enjoyable conversation with him about the wide variety of dairy-milk alternatives.”

Now you can spare twice as many farmed animals from suffering: Donate today and receive dollar-for-dollar matching!

You probably know about VO’s current matching donation drive — any donation made this month will be matched dollar-for-dollar!

But did you know that if you donate appreciated stock to VO, you won’t have to pay taxes on the gain and you’ll get to claim the value of the stock as a tax deduction?!*

Your donation of stock this month will be a double win for VO with your gift matched 100%, and a double win for you on your taxes!

If you’re able to make a stock donation, please contact Lisa Rimmert, Director of Development, at [email protected].

Don’t delay if you’d like a deduction for 2015! Thank you!

*View IRS Publication 526 for details and speak to a financial adviser.

Lana Smithson (below, left), VO’s New England Outreach Coordinator, has personally handed booklets to 13,855 students at 37 different schools this semester! And VO’s New York City Outreach Coordinator, Eileen Botti (below, right), has placed booklets into the hands of 8,492 students at 17 campuses this fall!

On September 25, Lana reached 855 students at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh: “A nice young man said the information was really good and just what he had been looking for lately. I heard from a few more grateful students and then met one who said she went veg a year ago after getting a booklet from me. I got her picture [below].”

Support Vegan Outreach’s Adopt a College leafleting program: Take advantage of our year-end matching campaign and have your donation doubled today!

Interested in mentoring a new or aspiring vegetarian or vegan?

While we can always use mentors anywhere, we are in special need for mentors in the following states:

Alabama
Arkansas
Georgia
Idaho
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Minnesota
Mississippi
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Utah
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

If you live in any of these states and are willing to help out, please fill out our vegan mentor survey by clicking here.

By Toni Okamoto

Remember Josh Fernandez from our series How Do You Vegan: The Brand New Vegan Edition? He was very new to veganism and was concerned that he may keel over on mile 25 of his first marathon as a vegan. He wrote:

“Another problem with veganism is that I’m a marathoner, sometimes clocking in at about 60 miles per week, and I told myself that if I only eat plant-based food I would most likely keel over on mile 25.

I haven’t actually tested that theory yet, but I will find out on December 6, when I run my first marathon as a vegan. And mark my words: If that happens, on my death bed I will write another blog post for Vegan Outreach, entitled, “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE, BUTCHER A COW AND EAT IT IMMEDIATELY.”

I’m kidding.”

Well, I am happy to announce that not only did he live to show that vegans can run marathons … but he also qualified for the Boston Marathon with the time of 3 hours and 11 minutes! That’s a 7 minute and 19 second pace per mile!! AANNND, best of all, after he left everyone in the dust, he walked around in his Vegan Outreach hoodie! Representin’.

Congratulations, Josh!

Sam Tucker, VO’s Australia & New Zealand Outreach Coordinator, has traveled to 35 different campuses this semester, reaching 35,225 students with Vegan Outreach booklets!

Above is Sam at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, NZ, where he handed out 1,352 Your Choice booklets this fall: “I met three vegetarians, all of whom were interested in cutting out dairy and eggs but didn’t know how to approach it, so I gave them a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating and told them to send me an email if they had any questions.”

On October 22, Sam teamed with volunteers Jessica Pilla and Monnica Lee at the University of Adelaide; together they were able to get out 2,200 booklets, more than doubling the previous campus record: “Massive day of outreach – we ran into lots of vegans, vegetarians and people who read the booklet, were disgusted by what they saw and wanted Guides to take the next steps towards a cruelty-free diet. It was Monnica’s first time ever leafleting but she was a natural, Jessica had helped out at Flinders University on Monday but had never leafleted before that either; they both did really, really well! Afterwards, I came home to two more email requests for Guides.”

Today, your donation to Vegan Outreach will inspire twice as many new vegans: Donate now to receive dollar-for-dollar matching!