Fall 2013 - Vegan Outreach

NEWS ▪ FALL 2013
Changing Lives
Every. Single. Day.
Dollar-for-Dollar
Matching
Opportunity
ROCKING
Summer Outreach
for the Animals
TEAM VEGAN 2013
Adopt a College’s 10 th &
BIGGEST YEAR EVER!
Vic Sjodin (students); Sandi Swiss (John)
Vegan Outreach’s philosophy is that each sentient
individual has a right to his or her body and life.
To that end, we promote living so as to contribute
to as little animal suffering and death as possible,
focusing on “preaching to the convertible” with our
booklets. Since Vegan Outreach’s founding in 1993,
over 21 million booklets have been distributed.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT
FISCAL YEAR
TOTAL REVENUE
2012–2013*
$895,186
TOTAL EXPENSES
$799,598
FY ’12–’13* FUNCTIONAL EXPENSES
AS A PERCENT OF TOTAL EXPENSES
Programs (88%)
Support Services (6%)
Fundraising (6%)
*Based on preliminary data
The Independent Charities Seal of
Excellence is awarded to charities
that have, upon rigorous independent
review, been able to certify, document,
and demonstrate on an annual basis
that they meet the highest standards
of public accountability, program
effectiveness, and cost effectiveness.
Of the 1,000,000 charities operating
in the United States today, fewer than
2,000 have been awarded this Seal.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Matt Ball, Executive Director
Jack Norris, RD, President
Mark Foy
Kevin Gallagher
Suzanne Haws
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT & PROGRAMS
Anne Green, PhD
DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH
Jon Camp
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Bill Duarte
DESIGNER & RESEARCHER
Lauren Panos
ADVISOR
Steve Kaufman, MD
PRIVACY POLICY
Vegan Outreach does not share, sell,
or trade any of our members’ information.
We’d love to hear from you!
Vegan Outreach
POB 30865, Tucson, AZ 85751-0865
VeganOutreach.org/contact
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
Front cover photo: ©iStock.com/shironosov. Back cover photos: Vic Sjodin.
2 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2013
Changing Lives Every. Single. Day.
Welcome to the 2013 edition
of Vegan Outreach News!
We’re sure you’ll be inspired by these pictures of people
whose lives we’ve changed, and some of the stories of
what we’ve accomplished together in the past year!
As you can see, Vegan Outreach’s incredible activists are handing booklets directly to new people
every single day—powerfully exposing the animals’ hidden plight and convincing more and
more individuals to make compassionate choices!
Every single day, our efforts together are changing lives…and changing the world!
You make all of this possible, so thank you for being a part of this powerful, necessary work!
The students at Miami Dade College were
eager to get booklets. Time and again,
students kept coming back to grab
one after passing by; many smiles and
thank yous, and a number of students
also thanking me for doing what we do.
Several great conversations ensued—
including two extended conversations
en Español. The highlight for me was a
student who came back to me exclaiming,
“This changed my life!” while proudly
holding up her booklet. There we have it:
proof positive that the work we’re doing
is making a difference.
—Yuri Mitzkewich, 1/29/13
Above (from left): Jeff Boghosian, Yuri Mitzkewich, and Linda Bower change lives at Miami Dade College. Top (from left): After receiving
booklets from Vic Sjodin in April, University of Dayton student Brigitte and University of Louisville student Geno said they wanted to go
veg; and at the University of Kentucky, Maria let Vic know she’s vegetarian as a result of receiving a Vegan Outreach booklet last year!
Connect with VO Every. Single. Day.
You can keep up with our latest accomplishments—as well as follow important news
and events, and see loads of great stories and pictures—through Vegan Outreach’s
weekly enewsletter (VeganOutreach.org/enewsletter). If you already subscribe, please
look for it in your inbox every Wednesday (be sure your ISP or Gmail doesn’t filter it).
And sign up for “Your Daily Dose of Vegan Outreach!” (WhyVeganOutreach.BlogSpot.com)
to get an inspiring email every day—uplifting stories, more great photos (like this one of
John Jungenberg speaking out for animals at Comic Con), fascinating links, recipes, and much more!
We’re also on Facebook and Twitter! Thank you for being a part of all our efforts!
Barbara Bear (PVHS students, farmers’ market group); © Enika | Dreamstime.com (chicks); Nikki Benoit (Barbara); Casey (Manhattan vegetarian)
Double Your Donation
for the Animals!
Barbara Bear (above, leafleting UCSB) sends the top-left photo from an Earth Day
event at Pioneer Valley High School: “A former vegan said she felt so alone in her
veganism, but she now wants to go back to being vegan. She and her friend were
so elated to see our booth at their school. Both took vegan pins and put them on
their backpacks immediately. They said they want to do outreach for animals too,
so I told them a bit about leafleting and gave them each a copy of A Meaningful Life.”
Of course, you’re a part of Vegan Outreach because
you want to help animals as much as possible.
So much interest that the night just flew by at the San Luis Obispo farmers’
market! A woman told Jeanie [Oliver] that getting a Compassionate Choices
at the Arroyo Grande farmers’ market caused her to go vegan. There were a
couple instances of guys saying they wouldn’t get enough protein if they were
vegan—I showed them the photo of Robert Cheeke in Compassionate Choices.
A group of students [bottom] got booklets and posed with the cow [Matt Bear].
I have a feeling there will be some new vegetarians out of that group!
And now, from November 1 through December 31,
your donations will be doubled, dollar for dollar!
Each and every fully tax-deductible contribution to
Vegan Outreach will change twice as many lives—
you’ll get more power for your dollar!
So please enjoy these examples of what we’ve accomplished together—
and then please, pull out your checkbook to take advantage of this
limited-time opportunity to help twice as many animals!
—Barbara Bear, 3/28/13
It was great to have Vinny [Di Santo’s]
help today [in Midtown Manhattan].
We met a few young women who went
veg after I leafleted them at a high
school in the city, and now they want
to go vegan! I asked if everyone at the
school was talking about it that day,
and they certainly agreed—
a couple hours on a morning
here can influence an entire
high school of 3,000 to 4,000.
Another guy [right] said he
was going to go veg after
having a few questions answered. Lots of other good feedback,
and ran into lots of veg people from other states and countries.
Casey, 4/13/13
Last Friday at Oregon State, the highlight of the day was talking
to a guy who went vegetarian as a result of a VO booklet he got
two years ago. Had a great conversation with him and he got
a Guide. When I went back this week, I met one young woman
who was really excited when she saw what I was giving out.
She will end up being a voice for the animals.
—Nettie Schwager, 3/15/13
Fall 2013|Vegan Outreach News 3
4 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2013
The Humane League (Baltimore and Mountain View WT, CA readers, Ethan); Jeremy Minnerick (Dallas WT); Jon Camp (Chelsea)
This year’s Warped Tour was amazing. We were received so well, kids
were really nice, and it bolstered our sense that the number-one way to change
the hearts and minds of society in regards to how we treat animals is to do
outreach to youth. Amazing to watch so many people so engrossed in reading
the booklet, and to overhear so many conversations about veganism. This work
is definitely a conversation starter; it gets people who otherwise wouldn’t
be discussing this issue, discussing this issue. The hundreds of starter guide
requests that have come in over the last two months are testament to the fact
that leafleting youth gets the goods.
So far in 2013, activists across the country and around the world
have handed Vegan Outreach booklets to well over
half a million individuals at concerts, festivals, parades, and other venues!
Over 300,000 of these individuals were reached at this summer’s Warped
Tour, a concert series that travels all across the country.
Well before the tour begins, Vegan Outreach designs and prints a Warped
Tour–specific booklet, using quotations and photos from veg members
of the various bands who will be part of that year’s tour. Every summer,
Vegan Outreach organizes the
schedule, arranges housing, and
ships hundreds of thousands of
booklets for our crew traveling
with the Warped Tour. Vegan
Outreach works with many
individual activists as well as
other groups—including FARM,
the Humane League, Mercy
For Animals, Action for Animals,
Compassionate Action for
Animals, and many others—
to make sure we reach as many
interested people as possible.
A record 162 activists took part
in Warped Tour leafleting this
year! Thank you so much to all
the amazing leafleters who put
in long days in the hot, hot sun.
Too many stories to relate
from my time on the tour.
Having Oli Sykes on the
custom booklet’s cover
has been huge. So many
kids say, “It’s Oli Sykes!”
or “Really? Oli Sykes is
a vegetarian?” Brian
[Zawacki] from the band
Rosedale—who play each
day on the tour—became
friends with Ben [Sylvester]
and helped leaflet as well;
Brian now plans to go fully
vegan! At the Minneapolis
stop, a member from the
band Silverstein walked up to Chelsea [Button, above] to say that his band
should have been featured in the booklet, since they’re veg. That was nice to
hear—bands who care about this issue and who want to be in the booklet!
In addition to the dozens and dozens of volunteers who took time out of your
busy schedules to join us in your city or to travel along for several dates, this
year’s Warped Tour wouldn’t have been the smashing success it was without
Anne Green, John Oberg, Ali Pester, Nathan Shin, and Ben Sylvester.
But none of this work would be possible without you donors on this list who
work hard at your jobs and donate to ensure that today’s youth are reached
with a message of kindness towards animals. We gave our absolute all this
summer to guarantee that your generosity did as much good as possible.
Once again, our most profuse thanks for making this happen.
—Jon Camp, 8/5/13
Above are Victoria Randall and Ben Sylvester
at the Warped Tour stop in Mountain View, CA.
At top, Amber Minnerick and Vic Sjodin reach
Warped Tour fans at the Dallas show.
Reporting on the first day of the Pomona Warped Tour stop, Ethan Dussault (below)
writes: “Of the 9,000 people who attended today, we reached 8,000. So awesome!”
On the following day, the Pomona crew reached another 8,500 concertgoers!
And a special thank you to all of Vegan Outreach’s dedicated donors.
If not for you, these booklets wouldn’t be developed, printed, shipped,
and handed to all these people. Your support is getting results every day,
with requests for VO’s Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating pouring in via texts,
voicemails, and online messages! Thank you for making this powerful
and necessary work possible. Because of your efforts and generosity,
you are changing lives every single day!
At left are California concertgoers engrossed in Warped Tour booklets, and some of the amazing activists
who leafleted the tour. Top (from left): Nathan Shin, Sacha Vizneau-Sweet, Sarah De Munck, Alessandra Seiter,
Katie Maguire, Alene Anello, Emily Glassman, Rachel Atcheson, Chace Stewart, Lesley Parker-Rollins, Ali Pester,
David Meadows, Kate St. John, Ben Sylvester, Jon Camp, Lisa Hines, Rusty Zufall, and Aaron Ross at the stop
outside Baltimore. Bottom (from left): Georgia Argiris, Stephanie Frankle, Becki Markle, Leslie Patterson, Jamie
Jungenberg, Stephanie Lipari, Rachel Shippee, John Jungenberg, and Mary Jungenberg at the Milwaukee stop.
Fall 2013|Vegan Outreach News 5
At the Long Island Pride Parade,
I combined my dance moves with
the opener, “Info to help animals,
widen your circle of compassion.”
Outstanding reception rate!
Right: Constance Li gives free hugs
along with Compassionate Choices
at the 43rd Annual Boston Pride
Parade. Below (from left): Angelica
Derossi, Elaine Vigneault, and
Lizbeth Coronado use Warped Tour
booklets to reach the many teens
who attend First Friday Las Vegas.
Below is just a small sample of the feedback
that’s come through from people requesting
a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating after receiving
a VO booklet at this year’s Warped Tour!
After the Warped Tour
leafleters left my house,
Angelica, Lizbeth, and
I decided to leaflet the
First Friday crowd. Met a
number of very interested
people, and met teens
who said, “Oh, I got this
at Warped Tour. Can I have
one for my friend?”
—Elaine Vigneault, 7/5/13
Right: Detroit concertgoers read
their Warped Tour booklets. Below:
After meeting John Oberg at the
VegMichigan VegFest in April,
Stephanie Bay (foreground) makes
her leafleting debut alongside Ali
Pester and Beau Broughton at the
Detroit Warped Tour stop. John
writes: “Stephanie texted me after
we leafleted to let me know one of
her sorority sisters messaged her
asking for advice about becoming
vegan. She was inspired to try to
go veg because somebody handed
her a VO booklet on WSU’s campus!
That ‘somebody’ would be one of
us—this work really does pay off!”
I went to Warped Tour and on my way out they
gave me a little book with band members saying
why they have gone vegan. And I read almost
every single one of them, and I saw the meals that
you can have, and I thought to myself that I’m
gonna give it a try. And on the back of this little
book it had the Vegan Outreach information, and
I decided to check it out and try it.
Aaron Ross met Steven at
the Buffalo stop; he’s been
vegetarian since getting a
booklet at Warped Tour ’12!
—JV, Houston, TX, 8/5/13
I heard about Vegan Outreach at Warped Tour
this summer. Once I went through the booklet,
it really opened my eyes to the things that happen
to animals and really influenced me to be vegan!
—BT, Atoka, TN, 7/26/13
Leafleting a Rancid show,
David Coman-Hidy ran into
Logan, who went veg due
to a Warped Tour booklet!
Brochure at
Warped Tour,
it’s changed my outlook on everything.
—HM, Elkhart, IN, 8/11/13
I heard about it at Warped Tour and I’ve
always wanted to become vegetarian so this
really helped me take the extra step!
Elaine Vigneault sends this
photo from the Las Vegas stop:
“He said he agreed with the
front cover quote. He says he’s
going to try to go vegetarian!”
—KB, San Antonio, TX, 8/5/13
I went to Warped in Dallas and received a
booklet; after I read it, I felt shameful for not
knowing as much as the booklet told. It has
opened my eyes, I’m grateful.
—SO, Huntsville, TX, 8/6/13
Vic Sjodin met Natalie while
leafleting Cal State Northridge;
she went vegan after receiving
a booklet at the Ventura stop!
6 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2013
They were giving out a little book about bands
going vegetarian and why they did at Warped
Tour. Inside the book it had pictures and articles
about the transformation of animals into food
and it was absolutely terrible knowing how
animals are truly treated. So I wanted to order
the brochure here so I could give it a try of
being a vegetarian. So thank you.
—Anonymous, Houston, TX
The Humane League (Constance); Vegas Veg (First Friday, Las Vegas WT); Chelsea Button (Detroit WT); Aaron Ross (Steven); David Coman-Hidy (Logan); Vic Sjodin (Natalie)
—Jennifer Greene, 6/8/13
A bit of the other feedback on our
efforts together this past summer:
Above, David Coman-Hidy reaches Warped Tour fans in West Palm Beach; and at
left are more young people engrossed in reading their Warped Tour booklets at the
concerts in San Diego (top two photos), Dallas (center), and Portland (bottom).
I was at an event a few weeks ago and
was handed one of your Compassionate
Choices brochures. After receiving this
brochure, I have become 100% vegan.
Going strong for two weeks now! I want
to do more. I’d like to volunteer to hand
out your brochures. Please let me know
how this works; I’m excited to help the
animals more than just being vegan.
Solid night on Fountain Square during the Friday concert event. Most people
were very receptive to the literature. I encouraged the vegetarians I met to take
a leaflet and give it to a friend. The highlight was a young woman, who got a
booklet earlier in the evening, telling me the information was very enlightening
and that it “had a great impact” on her. She thanked me for being out there
and asked for a few extra leaflets to take with her.
—Rich Sheer, 6/14/13
—Anonymous, 9/9/13
Just want to say…I became a vegan after someone handed me a VO booklet after
an Incubus concert. Best thing that could have happened to me and my family.
Big crowd at hip-hop night in Downtown Cincinnati—very receptive. One man
told me he read the booklet last time and it made him not want to eat meat.
One young woman came up to me a while after I handed her a booklet and
said that reading it made her want to cry.
—Jane Smiley, 6/22/13
Ethan Dussault (San Diego, Portland, and Pomona WT); Jeremy Minnerick (Dallas); Jon Camp (David); Vic Sjodin (Elizabeth)
—Anonymous, 9/5/13
I was at Warped yesterday in Hartford,
and my friends and I were approached
by someone handing out your booklets.
I talked with her for a while and was
horrified when I looked through the
booklets. I decided to go full vegetarian
and mostly vegan (I’ll ease my way into
veganism).
—CM, 7/15/13
Vic Sjodin writes: “Elizabeth [Freeman, right,
leafleting Wright State] went vegan as a
result of getting a booklet after a concert in
Cincinnati a few years back and has been a
powerhouse for animals ever since.” Below:
Concertgoers get Warped Tour booklets from
Ben Sylvester and Victoria Randall in Pomona.
I received your booklet at the Warped
Tour in Baltimore. It has changed my life
for the better—I am now vegan forever!
—BV, 7/20/13
I am so happy I went to Warped Tour
and became involved in this educated,
cruelty-free way of eating. I’m working
hard on my transition. I will make as
many donations as I can afford for as
long as I can.
—BV, 8/7/13 (sent with donation)
Fall 2013|Vegan Outreach News 7
A few of the many amazing activists who contributed
to the Adopt a College program’s biggest year ever!
Top of spread (from left): Julian Abrera, Chelsea Conlin,
and Annoula Wylderich at UNLV; Unny Nambudiripad
at UMTC; Gail Mayer at the College of Staten Island; Sen
Holiday at UW Eau Claire; and Brian Grupe, Susan Pitts,
and Aquila Nelson at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Good interactions at
CUNY Hostos Community
College and CUNY Baruch.
Met one student [right]
who has been veg since
getting our booklet in
high school! One person
mentioned the horse meat
scandal; I said it was no different than cow meat. He
took a booklet and agreed we should all be vegetarian.
One woman stopped to talk, mentioning her fur coat.
I commented that even
though I wouldn’t buy
a fur coat, I focus my
advocacy on food animals
because about 99% of
animals suffering are
killed for food. So, instead
of me criticizing her coat
and her possibly being
turned off, she left with
a really good impression
and knowledge to spread
to others.
—Lisa Drapkin (left, at
Stony Brook), 2/25/13
At Monroe Community College, Constance [Li] went
table to table in the food court, and a lot of those
people said they would eat less meat. One girl was
in the middle of eating chicken when she learned
about how chickens are treated on factory farms. She
hadn’t even wiped the BBQ sauce off her lips before
she said she would cut down on chicken. After a short
conversation, another guy pinky promised he would
eat less meat. Two separate people reached in the
hallways said they had been seriously considering
vegetarianism, and receiving the leaflet was exactly
what they needed to finally go through with it.
—Nathan Shin, 4/15/13
8 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2013
In the fall of 2003, Vegan Outreach officially
launched the Adopt a College
program—the first systematic campaign to
create a world that isn’t just a little less bad,
but a fundamentally better world.
That first school year, 98 leafleters
handed out a total of 81,779 booklets
on 174 campuses.
Working together, VO leafleters and donors
have steadily grown the program, with our
tenth year smashing all previous records!
During the 2012–13 school year, 539 activists
went to a total of 1,312 schools and handed
a booklet directly to 1,874,694 students!
Evergreen Valley College was Judy [Lindow’s] second
outing, and she’s really psyched on leafleting! Once
again, Diane [Gandee Sorbi] met a student who went
vegetarian the day she got a booklet from us last
semester, and vegan a month later, and is slowly
convincing her best friend to be vegan, too. Woo!!
—Brian Grupe, 2/5/13
These incredible records were possible only because
of your past financial support! The synergy of donors
and leafleters is the only way this necessary work
gets done—and together, we have
changed so many lives.
Now, we’re entering our second
decade of this powerful, effective,
and necessary program. Because of you,
in every state, dedicated activists are taking
the plight of farmed animals directly to new people,
typically reaching thousands every single day!
With your help today, we’ll make the second
decade even more powerful!
Turn the page for more exciting AAC news! And to follow
this semester’s progress, please visit AdoptaCollege.org
On their last day of classes at James Madison University,
2,500 students were handed a VO booklet about
factory farm cruelty. The response was amazing—
many constructive conversations about factory
farms and quashing of
myths associated with
vegetarian and vegan
health. Many students
told us they wanted to go
vegetarian, and a couple
students [including Erica,
right] said they went
vegetarian immediately
after reading the booklet.
It was an inspirational
way to end the semester!
—Aaron Ross and Kate St. John, 4/23/13
From Jon Camp on Earth Day: “While leafleting Goucher
College in Baltimore, Julie [below], a student there,
asked, ‘Are you with Vegan
Outreach?’ I said that I was.
Julie then let me know
that VO came to her school
a year ago, and she’s been
a vegetarian since. Thanks
to the tireless Aaron Ross
and Kate St. John for doing
outreach to Julie that day
and to all of you who work
to bring about a kinder
and more just world for
our fellow earthlings.”
More of our awesome AACers! Center of spread (from left):
Ashely Monti at UMTC; Kim Christian, Sarah Hudson, Kim
Carland, Rachel Atcheson at Salem State; Fred Tyler at UW
Stout. Bottom (from left): Tonja Robertson at IUB, Jeremy
Cleaver at Murray State, Giannina Gonzalez at Carnegie
Mellon, Josh Kissel at UW Madison, Dani Reese at the
University of St. Thomas, Matthew Glover at WPU, Meggie
Townsend at ASU Tempe, and Ben Collins at UW Madison.
Fall 2013|Vegan Outreach News 9
On 8/28/13, Vic Sjodin handed out 6,000 Even If You Like Meat
booklets at Cal State Northridge: an astounding all-time record
for the most students ever reached by one person in a single day!
Right: While leafleting Pomona College, Vic came across lifelong
VO member Ellen Green, who (as a fourth grader!) was among the
top 20 leafleters the very first semester of Adopt a College!
Above (from left): Ali Pester, John Oberg, John Sakars,
and Alex Greenwood enjoy much-deserved veggie dogs
after reaching 2,800+ University of Toronto students!
On 4/3/13, Ali Pester, John Oberg, and John Sakars (above, left)
handed out more than 4,600 Even If You Like Meat booklets and
over five dozen Guides at York University: the Canadian record
for the most students reached at one school in a single day!
Months ago when I was leafleting [Carleton University],
a journalism student asked me if she could interview
me about what I was doing and why for her class. I
did the interview and never thought much of it again.
Tonight I was tabling with my student group, and she
came up to me and reminded me of who she was and
said that she took a bunch of the leaflets home to her
boyfriend and family members. Her boyfriend has now
been vegetarian for three months, and she for one
month. She ended by saying, “It’s all because of you.
You made a difference.” THAT is why I leaflet.
Having reached an incredible number of people this past year, John Oberg now rounds out the top 10 AAC leafleters of all time, following
the Humane League, Jon Camp, Mercy For Animals, Vic Sjodin, Nikki Benoit, Casey, Eugene Khutoryansky, Joe Espinosa, and Brian Grupe!
—Ali Pester, 9/5/13
Nice conversations today
while leafleting Ryerson
University with John
Sakars. One was with a
young man [Tian, right]
who has been vegan for a
month. I asked him what
had prompted the change,
and he said getting a
Compassionate Choices
previously. He is interested in learning how to eat
better, so was pleased to get a Guide.
—Alex Greenwood, 4/26/13
Leafleting Leaders: Fall 2012 – Spring 2013 School Year
NAME
STATE
SCHOOLS
BOOKLETS
NAME
STATE
SCHOOLS
BOOKLETS
John Oberg
Vic Sjodin
The Humane League
Jon Camp
Steve Erlsten
Nikki Benoit
Dawn Ratcliffe
Rick Hershey
Mercy For Animals
Brian Grupe
Joe Espinosa
Rachel Shockey
Karen James
Casey
Jeff Boghosian
Kassy Ortega
The Humane League
Lisa Drapkin
Nathan Shin
AZ
CA
PA
MD
CA
CA
FL
MO
IL
CA
IL
KY
CT
NY
FL
VA
MA
NY
NY
209
182
91
109
130
79
129
53
48
77
30
90
46
103
73
49
27
28
39
211,687
116,737
106,453
104,265
101,686
79,470
71,639
71,490
62,996
56,104
51,615
47,467
46,311
43,102
37,039
29,862
28,589
24,822
22,726
Lana Smithson
Kitty Jones
Katie Pryor
Leslie Patterson
Aaron Ross
Diane Gandee Sorbi
Yuri Mitzkewich
John Sakars
Kate St. John
Rob Gilbride
Nettie Schwager
Cobie deLespinasse
Ethan Dussault
Sen Holiday
Ali Pester
Constance Li
Shura Hammond
Jennifer Greene
FAST (Five Activists Standing Together)
ME
CA
NY
IL
MD
CA
FL
ON
MD
NC
OR
OR
TX
MN
ON
NJ
CA
NY
IL
29
23
35
31
18
14
15
7
14
11
9
18
14
18
12
15
14
9
10
19,325
17,452
16,999
16,342
15,843
12,753
11,748
10,920
10,745
10,563
10,310
10,201
9,817
8,573
8,410
7,994
7,705
7,557
7,200
Below: Dave Doctor hands out Compassionate Choices
at the University of Virginia, where he and Jon Camp
reached more than 2,400 students last spring!
As a result of receiving a VO booklet
at the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga, this student now
wants to go vegan!
10 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2013
David was leafleted at Ohio State
twice: first he cut down on meat;
now he’s going vegan—plus he
and his girlfriend want to leaflet!
Ohio State student Alex received
an Even If You Like Meat booklet
from Joe Espinosa last year and
went vegan as a result!
Pages 8–11: Vegas Veg (UNLV); Lisa Drapkin (Hostos CC vegetarian, Gail); Jennifer Greene (Lisa); John Oberg (Unny, Sen, Josh, Dani, Meggie, Ben, Vidhant, Susan); Compassionate Action for Animals (Ashely); The Humane League (Salem State, Erica); Sen Holiday (Fred); Leslie Patterson (Tonja); Vic Sjodin (Jeremy, Giannina, Matthew, UTC aspiring vegan, David, Alex, Rachel and CSCC veggies, Amerea); Jon Camp (Julie, Dave); Alex Greenwood (Tian); Nikki Benoit (Coby); Cobie deLespinasse (PCC)
BIG
Numbers!
BIG
Results!
Above: Coby Pellatiro reaches Fullerton College students.
Just some of the lives changed at Columbus State Community College
last April (above, from left): Jasmine was horrified at what she had been
supporting and is not eating meat again! Jamie also wants to go vegan
after receiving a booklet. And Rachel Shockey spoke with Mrs. Meier,
a math professor who had cut back on meat after receiving an EIYLM
in the past—she read a second booklet and now wants to go vegan!
Students Handed a Booklet: Fall 2003 – Spring 2013
10,000,000
Today is the third day of my Ohio vacation. Over 3,600
booklets handed out so far! Jen Black, Stefanie Otley,
and I hit Bowling Green State University on Monday,
and then I leafleted Kent State yesterday. One student
at Kent said receiving our booklet in a past semester
had caused him and his whole family to go vegan!
—Leslie Patterson, 9/11/13
Despite the rain-shortened day, I had a ton of great
conversations at the College of Central Florida—was
actually shocked by the near-universal interest in the
booklets! Three people told me they now wanted to
go vegetarian, and one said he would work on going
vegan. The latter’s girlfriend had gone vegan to lose
weight, but when that did not happen she went back
to eating meat. However, he is trying to go vegan for
the animals, as he sees it as unnecessary to eat animal
products—noting it’s cruel when alternatives exist.
9,000,000
8,000,000
7,000,000
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
—Dawn Ratcliffe, 3/12/13
2,000,000
1,000,000
2003–2004 2004–2005 2005–2006 2006–2007 2007–2008 2008–2009 2009–2010 2010–2011 2011–2012 2012–2013
School-Year Totals
Cumulative School-Year Totals
Grand Totals: August 25, 2003 – October 1, 2013
Schools Leafleted
After getting a booklet at Bowling
Green State, Amerea Swanson not
only decided to go vegan, but also
took booklets to hand out!
2,413
Students Handed a Booklet
Vidhant, a student at the University
of Western Ontario, read a booklet
his sister received two years ago
and has been vegetarian ever since!
9,844,832
Henry Ford CC student Susan was
shocked: “If I had known about how
they were treating animals, I would
never have been eating meat.”
I spent the last three days at two Portland Community
College campuses. Too many great conversations to
repeat, with people asking questions about how to
move toward veg. Took pics of eight people* who have
changed or want to change their diet after receiving
a booklet. And three separate people said they were
really interested in leafleting/tabling. Wow!
—Cobie deLespinasse, 4/4/13
*Here are four of the eight! Above (from left):
the first student and his girlfriend went
vegan, and his mother is eating fewer
animal products; the second student
doesn’t want to eat meat after
reading EIYLM; the third student
and his roommates have been
eating less meat. And, as a result
of a VO booklet, the student at right
has been vegetarian for five years!
Fall 2013|Vegan Outreach News 11
TEAM
VEGAN
2013
FOR
THE ANIMALS!
The first guy I met at Norwalk Community College was a new vegetarian. He
took booklets and said, “I am going to share this great information with my
family and friends! This cruelty needs to stop!” Another guy said, “I’m all for
this…Keep up the good work!” Met Mario, who received a Vegan Outreach
booklet 13 years ago and went vegan! His girlfriend is vegan, too.
At Housatonic Community College, a student said, “I help animals: I don’t eat
them anymore since I got one of these booklets from you last year!” An older
woman came back and said, “I read the booklet. What is happening is a shame.
I am so glad you are standing up for the animals. I WILL cut back on animal
products!” Score! An older man walked by, stopped, looked at the booklet, said
his daughter is vegan, and that his wife is a teacher who may be interested
in this info and a talk for her class. He took my card.
Reached over 1,000 students at Dutchess Community College, where after
getting a booklet, one woman said she will now cut back consuming animal
products to twice a week. A security guard said, “Keep going, and good luck
doing the good work!” Eleven students wanted to start a group and eight of
them were interested in leafleting!
—Team Vegan member Karen James, 4/1/13
Why are Vegan Outreach’s amazing
leafleters able to take the animals’ plight
directly to millions of new people?
Because VO’s thoughtful donors—dedicated
to striking powerfully at the root of animal
exploitation—always step up in a big way!
All the members of Team Vegan were incredibly
effective at advancing VO’s outreach—by running, leafleting, babysitting,
and otherwise getting active for the animals. We’d like to give extra-special
thanks to Team Vegan-Cat, Power Couple Bockman, Joe Espinosa, Leslie
Patterson, Laura Hart, Audrey Caplan, Barbara
Bear, Catherine Berlot, Brian Tomasik, Lauren
Farnsworth, Nettie Schwager, Vegas Veg,
and Johanna Andris.
And Team Vegan couldn’t have succeeded
without our generous group of matching
donors—especially Steve, Mark, Brian,
Steve, Yvonne and David, Peter, Ari, and
Anonymous! Your matching challenge
magnified everyone’s impact!
Great leafleting at East Carolina University! As always, I met vegans who had
received a booklet in the past and decided to change their diet. Nothing beats
the power of a VO booklet.
—Rob Gilbride of Team Triangle, 2/18/13
Learn more about these incredible people
at TeamVegan.biz
THE POWER OF A VO BOOKLET
Team Vegan member Eric Griffith writes:
“I’d like to share a short story with you
about the power of these booklets you’ve
created and worked so hard to spread
throughout the world:
“Last September, the University of Georgia
held the annual student activities fair.
Hundreds of student organizations set up
tables to promote their causes and recruit new members. Our animal advocacy group Speak Out
for Species had a table at the fair. At the same time, I handed out VO booklets to the passing crowd.
“One girl who took a booklet from me paused and then walked back to me. She said she used to
be vegetarian but had gone back to eating meat, and that this booklet might be just the thing
to inspire her to try being vegetarian again.
12 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2013
Dawn Ratcliffe (Eric); Speak Out for Species (SOS activists)
A few of our amazing Team Vegan members! Above (from left): Lesley Parker-Rollins’
kids Will, Maya, and Tyler. Below: Angela and Brandon Becker in front of Old Faithful.
I can tell this semester is going to be on
fire with eager and curious students!
I kicked off this fall with Virginia State.
These open-minded students weren’t
even a little hesitant to grab a booklet
offered to them as “info to help animals.”
Had two conversations with a vegetarian,
and then with a pre-vegan who wants
to go meatless every day for lunch. Baby
steps, folks! Had a long, wonderful
conversation with a biology student who
was told every veg myth I’ve ever heard.
She was so wide-eyed when hearing the
truth, nodded in agreement, and was
excited to get her Guide after asking how to get started reducing her meat consumption.
AND…I broke my first record today—the new all-time high at VSU is 1,334!
—Team Vegan member Kassy Ortega (above), 8/22/13
Lesley Parker-Rollins (Will, Maya, & Tyler); ©iStock.com/pederk (chick); ©iStock.com/JMichl (piglet); John Oberg (Karen)
Fun day of leafleting with my mom [Karen, left] at
Macomb Community College. We recently got some
pretty bad news about her health, but her immense
positivity has her turning sadness around and into
motivation to get out there and do something to
reduce others’ suffering. She’s currently wheelchairbound, but that didn’t stop her from smiling ear-to-ear
and offering a booklet to every student that walked by.
She more than doubled her previous one-day record.
We heard lots of supportive words and had many
wonderful, productive conversations with interested
individuals—which brought an even bigger smile to
my ma’s face. It was a VO booklet that turned my mom
veg, so she knows firsthand the power of this work.
She inspires me every day, and I feel I’m the luckiest
son in the world.
—Team Vegan member John Oberg (left), 5/8/13
More of the wonderful folks on Team Vegan! Above (from left): Max Caplan, Audrey
Caplan, Laura Hart, and Dennis Caplan. Below: Dan Kuzma and Mandy Tucker.
Leafleting the Cinco de Mayo parade was great—I was able to use Christian
Vegetarian Association booklets, ¿Por qué vegetariano?, and Compassionate
Choices. There were so many people it was easy to target the younger people.
I got a lot of “I want to help animals” or “I need to go vegetarian” comments,
and even a few “My friend just learned about this, and went like seriously
vegan” comments.
—Darina Bockman of Power Couple Bockman, 5/5/13
This was FAST’s first advocacy bike trip. We traveled to Madison and Milwaukee
via bike and sometimes truck (due to high winds and harsh weather conditions).
Day one was very successful at UW Madison, reaching over 2,000 students.
We heard from a student who had gone veg from a VO booklet she received on
campus about a month ago! After UW Madison, we split up and leafleted two
local high schools. It was amazing—everyone was eager to get a leaflet and
was sincerely interested in the content. Kevin [Cooney] heard from a student
who had recently gone vegan and asked for a few more to give to her friends,
to help them go veg!
Day four started out at UW Milwaukee, and ended with two local high schools.
John [Jungenberg] had an amazing interaction with a student that started off
negatively; then after 15 minutes of talking with him, he said that he would
try Meat Free Monday! Jamie [Jungenberg] had a woman tell her that she had
decided to become vegetarian on the spot, as a result of our having given her
a Compassionate Choices!
—Team Vegan member Rachel Shippee, 4/19/13
“Since receiving your booklet, she did resume being vegetarian, then became vegan, and has been
a very active volunteer with our group all during the school year. Next year, Jordan is going to
be vice president of our group!
“Thanks a million to you for creating
these booklets and making them
available. They have the power to
change the direction of a life in a
profound way. And thanks also for
providing the encouragement and
positive example to people like me
who needed that boost of courage
to get out there and leaflet!”
At left is Eric Griffith, and at right are
SOS activists (from left) Catherine Klein,
Tabitha Phillips, Kirstin Valdes, Ru Bearr,
and Jordan Alexander.
Fall 2013|Vegan Outreach News 13
My daughter came home from school telling me
about Vegan Outreach, and I would love to learn more
about how to do my part in saving precious animals.
—Anonymous, Brownsville, TX (requesting a Guide)
NOW’S YOUR CHANCE!
On the way home after handing a booklet to over 1,100 students at Michigan
State, I drove behind a truck crammed with turkeys on their way to slaughter.
They were packed as four birds per wire cage (looked to be 24" x 24" x 24" cages)
with no protection from the weather and wind. They were absolutely motionless
due to the pain of their overgrown bodies and damage done in the handling,
and no doubt fear of the experience of shipping.
While I have seen some pretty brutal stuff during my years in animal protection,
this made me cry. Let’s work.
—Joe Espinosa, 3/26/13
At Southern Maine Community College, a young man who had worked at an
egg farm said the conditions were horrible; he described small cages, sick birds
with hardly any feathers, etc. Part of his job was to remove dead / dying birds
from the cages. While looking at the battery cage photos in the booklet, he said
conditions are sometimes even worse than what the photos show.
—Lana Smithson, 3/26/13
Marley [Francis] joined me at Central Piedmont Community College, where we
met Jessica who wants to get involved. She said she had goosebumps just talking
about what we are doing here! Marcele, a security guard, was excited about us
being there. She recently rescued a turkey that fell off of a slaughter truck, and
showed us pictures. She asked for more booklets, and I gave her a Guide. She
said she wanted to cut meat out of her diet and hoped we would come back!
Open Your Heart &
Dedicate a New Decade
to the Animals!
Because of the dedication of our donors and leafleters, over 9.75 million
students have been handed a Vegan Outreach booklet, at campuses
across the United States—and in Canada, Mexico, and other countries!
Including outreach at concerts,
festivals, and other venues, more
than 14 million young people
have been handed one of VO’s
powerful and proven booklets
via the Adopt a College program.
You made Adopt a College’s first
decade a success—donors and
leafleters pursuing powerful and
proven outreach to students all
across North America!
Today, your support will determine how many new people we reach
together in 2014—and how many new vegetarians there are!
Together, we can make it the best year yet!
Jon Camp (truck, Ben, Shari); ©iStock.com/GlobalP (hen & chicks); John Oberg (Aletha & Matt, Claire)
Jon Camp writes: “At a rest stop in central Illinois, I saw this truck full of chickens
bound for slaughter. I walked by it to get some pics [shown]. A man standing by a
different truck for a freight company yelled out, ‘After seeing stuff like this, you
almost want to go vegetarian.’ Surprised to hear that, I told him that I was veg. He
then let me know that he’s cut pretty much all meat from his diet, though he’s still
working on pork. This has been the result of seeing too many such trucks too close.
It goes to show that we never know when we’re going to find an unexpected ally.”
—Curt Albright, 4/17/13
Near Bucknell University, I saw a truck carrying hundreds of pigs to slaughter.
Actually, first I heard them squealing from several hundred feet away. I’ve only
seen this stuff in videos—never up close like this before—so upsetting.
Feeling highly motivated to hit my next school to help end this cruelty.
—Chris Guinn, 9/10/13
At this year’s VegMichigan VegFest and Mad City
Vegan Fest, John Oberg and Jon Camp met a
number of people whose lives were changed by
our work together! At top are Aletha and Matt
Oberlein—Aletha was handed a Why Vegan? at
Hamilton College in 2005 and has been vegan for
14 Vegan Outreach News|Fall 2013
7 years now! Above (from left): Claire was handed
a Why Vegan? at a music festival a few years back,
and both she and a friend went vegan as a result;
receiving an Even If You Like Meat at UW Madison
in 2011 led Ben to go vegan; and Shari is vegan as
a result of receiving a VO booklet 15 years ago!
Vic Sjodin (Rochelle & boyfriend); ©iStock.com/Tsekhmister (chicks); ©iStock.com/JMichl (piglet); Steve Erlsten (Sam & Lisa); Karen James (festgoers)
Left: After receiving an
Even If You Like Meat
from Vic Sjodin at Miami
University, Rochelle said
she was going to get a
hamburger for lunch but
couldn’t, and that she
didn’t see how she could
ever eat meat again after
reading the booklet. They
discussed what to eat and
what vegetarian options
are available on campus;
then Rochelle encouraged
her boyfriend to eat less
meat—both were happy
to receive Guides!
Your Donation
DOUBLED
DOLLAR
FOR
DOLLAR!
A group of your fellow thoughtful
donors—dedicated to helping Vegan
Outreach activists break even more
records and change even more lives—
have combined their resources to
create an end-of-year matching pool.
Many great conversations at San Diego State, and quite a few people came
back to talk and ask questions after reading the booklet. Talked with a guy who
used to be vegan, went over some of the various excuses he’s come up with, and
gave him a Guide. He ended up saying, “No more excuses.” More than a few
people said things like, “Wow, you have just opened my eyes!” One guy came
back saying, “I had NO clue that this kind of stuff went on, this is unbelievable.”
—Shura Hammond, 4/17/13
This was our second year leafleting the MLK parade, and it was fantastic once
again! We reached nearly 1,600 people. There were quite a few good questions
and conversations, but the
highlight was when
Brittany [Staton] met
Lisa and Sam [right],
who have just gone
vegetarian—they
couldn’t support the
system of animal abuse
any longer! They helped leaflet,
and Robb [Curtis] is going to
follow up with them about
getting some vegetarian events
going in their neighborhood!
Another highlight: Brittany leafleted Samuel L. Jackson, and after he looked
at it, he went back and gave her a hug! I didn’t realize it, but he’s vegetarian!
I hope he looks Vegan Outreach up and volunteers with us and becomes a donor!
—Steve Erlsten, 1/23/13
That’s right—these donors want to
make your contribution go twice as far for the animals!
Please open your heart for the animals and give by December 31.
Your tax-deductible donation will reach twice as many new people
with the animals’ message.
You can donate securely at VeganOutreach.org/donate or mail your
donation to the address on page 2. Thank you!
Dawn [Ratcliffe] and I had marvelous experiences at both North Carolina A&T
and UNC Greensboro. Thoughtful questions, people interested in making the
transition, etc. Enthusiastic responses, such as, “Oh! I dig this! Thanks so much!”
“Can I have another? My friend will love this.” Two students were very excited to
get information from Vegan Outreach because they are doing a class project on
the impacts of our food system. We’re thankful for how many people we were
able to reach on this day—we sense a clear shift in how students are thinking
about vegetarianism, food politics, and animals.
Thanks to everyone who makes this life-changing outreach possible.
—Loren Hart, 2/25/13
Below: Happy Compassionate Choices recipients at an Earth Day fest in Woodbury, CT!
Thank you! I got your booklet at Cal State Long Beach three years ago. That was
the last day I ate land animals. A few months later I stopped eating seafood, and a
few more months after that I stopped eating eggs. AND I have now been vegan for
four months! I have decided to take more action now and spread the word.
—MQ, 4/26/13 (ordering booklets)
Your donation =
more booklets =
more vegetarians =
more animals saved!
Fall 2013|Vegan Outreach News 15
CHANGING LIVES EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
Awesome, epic, splendiferous day at Cerritos College!
Reached 2,500 students—a new one-person record—and
received awesome feedback. Four separate people came back
later saying they wanted to go veg [two at right], another [Jamal,
below, right] said he wanted to eat far less meat. Met a woman,
Anna [left], who has been vegan for five years since reading a
Vegan Outreach booklet her friend had gotten at a concert. Saw
many sitting and reading [below, left], walking and reading, just
epic. Met Magali [Cota, below], an aspiring vegan who helped
me leaflet most of a class change. Mucha gracia, Magali! Lots of
Latino Americans here, 50% maybe, so got to practicar mi Español.
Extremely tiring and rewarding last three days,* so happy
to be back at it and getting all the great
feedback on the ground. Thank you to
all of you who make it possible.
—Vic Sjodin, 8/21/13
*On 8/19/13, Vic had a record-setting day at Irvine Valley College; Doreen Marciano
helped leaflet on the spot, and several more students expressed interest in going
veg, including a group of five women (top of page) and Mariel (below, far right).
On 8/20/13, Vic reached a record number of Moorpark College students, including
(below, from left): a woman who now wants to go vegan and help leaflet; Pedro,
who is now committed to going veg; and Andrea, who plans to drastically reduce
her meat consumption. Three consecutive days, three new records, two leafleting
debuts, and many lives changed—sparing many, many animals from suffering.
And these are just some of the highlights reported by one Adopt a College activist!
Together, we’re changing lives every single day; see VeganOutreach.org/feedback