Dave Mosick is one of the Adopt a College program’s most dedicated volunteers. He’s leafleted 13 different campuses this semester, directly handing Vegan Outreach booklets to more than 14,000 students!

Below are Kassy Ortega and Dave at George Washington University, where they got booklets into the hands of 1,700 students in a single day! Kassy reports: “Record breaking day at GWU! With the help of Dave ‘Vegan Superhero’ Mosick, we killed the record by 500!”

The following week, Dave teamed with Kassy at Howard University, and together they reached 1,350 students:

Best day at Howard ever! Where do I start? In the morning when I got there, I leafleted for about an hour and half, and a student came and chatted with me. He was extremely defensive at first, claiming that I can’t force my beliefs on other people. Continuing to leaflet, I told him I wasn’t forcing anyone to take a booklet or forcing anyone to read the booklet; I also told him the booklet wasn’t about beliefs – it’s factual information which people can do whatever they want with. He then asked me: “Do people actually go vegetarian from this booklet?” I told him, “Through my experiences, YES! People care about animals, and make positive changes based on this factual information; you should really just read about it yourself.” I wasn’t mean, but I was firm. He wouldn’t take an Even If You Like Meat, but he took a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating [below]. He came back to me 45 minutes later and told me he got a veggie sub at Subway, and that he wants to try eating meatless for a week!

Dave showed up, being awesome as usual. (It was around 95°F by now!) He’s so sweet – he brought me an iced tea. He also had an amazing conversation with a kid who got an Even If You Like Meat and now wants to go VEGAN! Insane in the membrane!

AMAZING DAY.

—Kassy Ortega, 9/2/14

Your donation to Vegan Outreach will create more vegans: Give to VO by the December 31 deadline to double your impact for the animals!

Chelsea Collins, VO’s Australia Outreach Coordinator, has leafleted 29 different schools this semester, handing out more than 15,000 Vegan Outreach booklets!

Below are Chelsea (on a freezing morning at Federation University Australia) and University of Newcastle veg club member Louis Hill with Caitlin Davies, who went vegan as a result of receiving a VO booklet from him on campus last semester!

This semester at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Melbourne City, Chelsea reached 450 students with Your Choice booklets:

Today was absolutely freezing, windy, and it was raining again. I felt like I was standing on ice blocks in a gale all morning, and I only lasted a few hours before throwing in the proverbial towel. Umbrellas and hands in pockets were my enemy. I take my hat off to those of you who are able to leaflet when it’s below freezing and/or snowing. Seriously.

One lady came back past and stopped to tell me that she thought our work was really important; and she told me that she has a couple of colleagues doing their PhDs on animal issues at this school, which I thought was cool.

Melbourne is famous for being the city of “four seasons in one day.” Well…by the time I got home the rain had stopped, the clouds were gone, and there was nothing but blue skies. It even warmed up and I felt foolish. Melbourne, you win this round but I’ll be back.

—Chelsea Collins, 9/2/14

Support VO’s Adopt a College leafleting program: Give to Vegan Outreach by December 31, and your donation will be matched, dollar for dollar!

Rick Hershey and Chip Ballew of Ohio Vegetarian Advocates are two of this semester’s most prolific Adopt a College leafleters. This fall alone, Rick (below, left) has traveled to 43 different schools, directly handing Vegan Outreach booklets to more than 37,000 students! And Chip (below, right) has been to 15 different campuses this semester, directly handing VO booklets to over 11,000 students!

I tabled and leafleted indoors at Southwestern Illinois College today. Seven students decided to go vegan after visiting my table; photos of four of them below.

—Rick Hershey, 10/28/14

Your Donation to VO = More Booklets = More Vegans = More Animals Spared!

And through December 31, you can double the impact of your donation!

Guest Post by Liz Gary

Liz Gary knows how to roll up her sleeves and bake some cookies! Three years ago Liz decided to dedicate the second Saturday of December each year to gathering friends together to bake, decorate, and gift wrap vegan holiday cookie packages to share with family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Her special cookie gifts come complete with vegan recipe gift cards that are meant to create “food for thought” and inspire the lucky recipients to consider a vegan diet. Most people don’t think about cookies as a way to help people start making the connection between diet, the environment, and animal welfare but Liz found that using a little sweetness can go a long way! Gather your friends together and bake cookies for a cause! Here’s how she did it.

Chef Gina Sample, founder of the Vegan Lab demonstrates how to make vegan and gluten-free holiday cookie dough in the gourmet kitchen of vegan bloggers David and Donna Kater

Interior Designer Susan Matanguihan came to learn more about vegan and gluten-free baking and help out with creative ideas for gift wrapping and packaging the cookie gifts.

Soy to the World! Vegan Cooking Instructor and Founder of Veg Appeal Tracy Childs monitored the ovens and helped distribute a variety of cookies including vegan and gluten-free cherry thumbprints, vegan gingerbread men, roll-out cane sugar cookies, pecan snowballs, and chocolate chip walnut cookies.

Holiday bakers assembled cookie gift packages at a wrapping station that included recipe gift cards that help raise awareness to the fact that cookies can still be delicious (and even better!) when you leave out the traditional eggs and dairy.

Each participant was invited to make up to six cookie gift packages, host David Kater (left) looks on while Paul Yancey proudly displays his cookie creations.

Holiday joy was abundant with caroling and drawings for special gifts including an online Vegan Fusion course donated by author Mark Reinfeld, a Vegan in Volume Cookbook donated by the Humane Society of the United States, and Earth Balance t-shirts donated by Boulder Brands.

Liz Gary’s event this year raised funds for both Vegan Outreach and the Veg Fund. Both donations were matched dollar for dollar increasing her total contribution to $400.00 for vegan outreach projects in 2015. Liz develops and coordinates a variety of vegan outreach events throughout the year including free Vegan Food Fairs and Meatless Monday Family Cooking Classes held through the San Diego Public Library System. She leads plant based culinary tours, consults to the foodservice industry and plans to host her first Vegan Fashion Show and Food Fair in 2015. For more information and tips on hosting a vegan fundraiser contact Liz by email at [email protected].

Lana Smithson, VO’s New England Outreach Coordinator, has leafleted 32 different campuses this semester, handing out nearly 12,000 Vegan Outreach booklets!

Earlier this month, Lana and first-time leafleter Andy Charles reached hundreds of students at the University of Southern Maine:

The weather in Maine has been icy and awful lately, and today there was steady cold rain, so we stayed indoors next to an enclosed walkway. Andy was a natural at leafleting. He has a great sense of humor and did some joking with students, which made for a fun atmosphere. He’s excellent at engaging in conversations. One student told him that he’s been thinking for a while about going veg but just hasn’t done it yet. Andy was very encouraging and told him a bit about his experience on the path of going vegan. The student thanked him and was motivated to give it a try!

—Lana Smithson, 12/10/14

Support Vegan Outreach’s work by setting up a new automatic monthly contribution today, and a generous donor will triple the amount of your first month’s donation!

By Toni Okamoto

Wondering what to get for the vegan who has everything? How about something fun AND useful?!  Here are some of my kitchen favorites, varying in price but comparable in good quality!

Jeanette Zeis Vegan Dishes

Noodlehug Art

Vegan Cutting Board

Fabulous Kitchen Apron

Refrigerator Magnet

“What I Eat” Hebivore Clothing Tote

Betty Rawker Nut Bag

Jeanette Zeis Nutritional Yeast Jar

This past month, a handful of generous donors have matched your contributions dollar-for-dollar, doubling your impact for the animals. On this day, December 17, 2014, one of those donors has stepped up to TRIPLE your impact!

John Sakars and Alex Greenwood are two of the Adopt a College program’s most dedicated volunteers. This semester alone, John has leafleted 11 different campuses, directly handing Vegan Outreach booklets to more than 17,000 students! And Alex has been to 7 different schools this fall, directly handing VO booklets to over 11,000 students!

John (above) and Alex (below) reached 2,050 students at the University of Toronto on 9/25/14. Alex reports: “John met a student who said she already had a leaflet and that is the reason she went vegetarian.”

The following Monday, they returned to the campus and reached another 1,250 students:

I had many conversations with students about how to help the animals. At first, one woman told me she’d be okay with eating meat if the animals were treated better. However, after I said there’s no such thing as “humane meat,” she looked through the leaflet and began to cry. She talked about how much she loves animals. I told her it was wonderful to see her crying, because it means she feels empathy and that’s awesome. She took a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating. I think our conversation, and the leaflets, changed her life.

—John Sakars, 9/29/14

Through December 31, your donation to Vegan Outreach will change twice as many lives: Click here to receive dollar-for-dollar matching today!

By Toni Okamoto

Looking for the perfect gift for the veg kid in your life? Look no further, we’ve got you covered!

That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals by Ruby Roth

“That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals uses colorful artwork and lively text to introduce vegetarianism and veganism to early readers (ages six to ten). Written and illustrated by Ruby Roth, the book features an endearing animal cast of pigs, turkeys, cows, quail, turtles, and dolphins. These creatures are shown in both their natural state—rooting around, bonding, nuzzling, cuddling, grooming one another, and charming each other with their family instincts and rituals—and in the terrible conditions of the factory farm.”

Fur and Feathers Board Game

“Fur & Feathers is a board game that teaches children about the importance of being kind to animals (and how our daily choices affect them), without being preachy or negative. Kids get to adopt animals from shelters, answer animal fact questions, and order cruelty-free foods at cafes. The first player to rescue 1 of each of all 5 animals wins the game.”

Good Luck Elephant Tee from Herbivore Clothing

Kidlicious by Stephanie & Anneliese Howard

“The first completely plant-based cookbook designed to get kids excited about eating healthy. Kidlicious has covers Breakfast through dessert, fun and healthy recipes to get the whole family cooking together!”

Vegan Allergy Wristband 

“Allermates has the solution – their new “Captain V” Vegan Wristband is a fun and simple way to make it easily known that your child does not eat animal products, making it much easier for teachers and caregivers to always know about dietary restrictions that need to be adhered to.  It’s also fun for kids with the bright green band and Captain V on the front, giving them something fun to wear while also bringing awareness to their lifestyle.  Band fits most children from ages 2 up, and has three adjustable snaps for varying wrist sizes.  Latex-free band with nickel-free snaps is allergen-safe, and product quality meets and exceeds both US and European safety standards.”

Chicken Run

“A comedy drama set on a Yorkshire chicken farm in 1950s England, the story follows the turbulent romance between Rocky the Rooster and Ginger the chicken, both of whom yearn for freedom and are planning a daring “prisoner of war” style escape. Both chickens are tired of being repressed and know they face an eventual certain death, so in planning their escape, they rally with their fellow chickens.”

Soy Based Crayon Rocks

“Sixty-four (64) Non-toxic, all natural soy wax crayons in 16 colors: red, green, blue, egg yolk yellow, black, brown, orange, purple, pink, grass green, sky blue, sunshine yellow, gray, tan, peach.”

Rhino Shirt

Dave Loves Chickens by Carlos Patino

“Dave Loves Chickens is the first in a series of books for young children examining the unique characteristics of animals and questioning why people eat them. The main character of the book, Dave, is a quirky monster from another planet who knows all sorts of fun and interesting facts about animals. Dave simply loves animals on Earth and encourages others to appreciate them and not eat them! This fun, lighthearted book, full of bold colors and friendly illustrations, is ideal for parents who would like to introduce their children to a more compassionate way of treating animals.”

 

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.