Steven Litrov has handed out 40,893 booklets at 76 different schools this semester!

On February 1, Tyler DeVere (below, left) and Steven had a record-breaking day at Nashville’s Lipscomb University:

We met several vegans and vegetarians who support our work and were happy to see us, and met one vegetarian, Tiffany [below, right], ready to go vegan after receiving a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating!

On March 21, Steven teamed with Nolan Guiffre and Carol Hope of the Rochester Area Vegan Society (below), and together they handed out 900 Your Choice booklets at SUNY Geneseo:

First day back from a great spring break at home in LA. It was freezing with some snow here and there—contrast is huge from weather at home. I had volunteers from RAVS for about two hours—two great activists who have been rocking the Rochester area with leaflets this semester. They were both very enthusiastic and I believe just started leafleting this semester—definitely saved us some stops.

One student told Carol that he went vegetarian after getting a booklet last year! Lots of students said they were vegetarian. One student asked where the information in the booklet is sourced from because he couldn’t believe it—I recommended he check out other resources too.

I saw the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer on this small community bookshelf in the library. It was the book that influenced Natalie Portman to go vegan and she went on to influence me! Towards the end of the day I saw a girl reading Your Choice to her boyfriend [below, right].

On April 12, Steven and volunteers reached more than 1,000 students at Indiana State University:

Pretty warm and special day here, being joined by David Rojas and new vegan Rakeem Deizbarrz [below, left]. David initially joined us at Warped Tour last year and was excited to volunteer some more and brought Rakeem along. They both made interactions a priority and had lots of them [one of David’s, below, right], planting many seeds and opening hearts.

One student rolled up on his bike and asked me what I was handing out, and I said, “Info to help animals” and he said, “Hell yeah” and took one and rode off. Another student said she’s in an environmental group and was interested in talking about the impacts of animal agriculture more. I also met another student who had just recently gone vegan and is interested in starting up a club and getting more involved. Another student joined our conversation to tell us she used to be really involved, but schoolwork got the best of her. Awesome to have so much support!

You can support VO’s Adopt a College leafleting program and double your impact for the animals by taking advantage of our Team Vegan matching campaign: Donate now!

By Lisa Rimmert, VO Director of Development

Sunday is Father’s Day, and we at VO want to give a shout-out to one of our favorite fathers, Brian Ottens!

Brian helps so many groups and individuals in the movement, and yet he is one of the most humble people we know.

He’s been integral to VO’s success for many years, and he often goes above and beyond to help. On top of his financial generosity, Brian volunteers his time to reduce animal suffering.

Recently, Brian helped VO by volunteering at the DC and Baltimore Green Dinners, staffing a table at the Baltimore VegFest, and writing a wonderful blog post about helping vegans sustain their choices. He is also a regular leafleter along with his daughter Emily, one of VO’s best volunteers. Nobody turns her down when she offers up a booklet!

Now, Brian and Emily are raising money for Team Vegan, and they’ve pledged to create uplifting farm animal pictures with sidewalk chalk—one for every $250 they raise!

Thank you, Brian, for all you do for animals, and Happy Father’s Day!

By Lisa Rimmert, VO Director of Development

When we think of great vacation destinations in the Pacific Northwest, most of us think of Portland and Seattle. Both are fantastic cities, but there’s a mid-size port city in between that is surprisingly wonderful too. Tacoma, Washington is about an hour south of Seattle, with a population of just a couple hundred thousand. I recently visited for two days, and I had no idea that I’d like it so much. I hope you like reading about it!

Our first night in town, my husband and I visited Quickie Too, a vegan soul food restaurant in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood. This restaurant is one of several run by Seattle’s Plum Restaurants–their others are Plum Bistro, Plum Pantry, Plum Burgers (a food truck), and Sugar Plum (for desserts). Quickie Too is their original vegan diner, and it’s in Tacoma! It’s small and seemingly unimpressive from the outside, but the food is fantastic. Brad ordered the Burro Diablo, with grilled seitan, brown rice, black beans, grilled onions, spicy chimichurri sauce, lettuce, and tomatoes.

I had the Ayinde’s Chili Mac, a twist on their famous Mac and Yease. Yum!

And what meal is complete without milkshakes? Brad ordered the strawberry, and I ordered the chocolate. They were almost out of chocolate, so they offered me a chocolate and peanut butter shake instead. It was delicious!

After dinner we drove about ten minutes north to Point Defiance Park, a 700-acre park with attractions that I think are great—pretty gardens, beaches, trails, and a boardwalk—and attractions I have no interest in—namely, the zoo and aquarium. We drove down Five Mile Drive, a gorgeous loop lined with old-growth forests, and containing wildlife, bicyclists, and scenic views to pull over and take photos of. Pictured below is yours truly in front of a 450-year-old Douglas fir called the Mountaineer Tree.

On our short drive, we saw birds, deer, and even raccoons!

I couldn’t believe how full each day felt here. There was just so much to do and see! The next day we drove two hours or so to Mount Rainier National Park. It may be cheating to write about that in a blog post about Tacoma, but I’m including it because it’s an easy drive and an incredible place to visit for anyone visiting Tacoma. We did some Googling the day before and found many trails to choose from. In the end, we chose Silver Falls Trail because, well, there was a waterfall. Enough said.

Silver Falls Trail is a loop, totaling about three miles. I’d describe it as easy to moderate—there were a couple of uphill portions. The waterfall was an excellent payoff at the loop’s halfway point. We admired it for a while, took some photos, and then headed back on the other side of the river.

When we returned to Tacoma, we took a quick nap followed by the perfect post-hike dinner at Viva Tacoma. We ordered the sesame ginger Cauliflower “Wings,” which were different than any I’ve tasted before. I’m used to them being flavored with buffalo or barbecue sauce, which I love, but these were great too.

For our entrees, I ordered the Raw Enchiladas. Typically I’m not a big fan of raw food–namely dishes that are traditionally warm but are served cold or at room temperature. These enchiladas were listed as a favorite on the Viva menu, so I went for it. They came with seasoned walnut “meat,” cabbage, and nut cheese wrapped in a sweet cashew tortilla and topped with lettuce, enchilada sauce, pico de gallo, cashew sour cream, and avocado. They were excellent.

Brad ordered the Viva La Burger, a veggie burger with jalapeno cashew mayo, lettuce, tomato, and cucumber. He reported that it was yummy, too. Viva was a big hit!

Our last exciting venture was whale watching. I have only done this once—while living in Monterey, California in 2006—and Brad never has. It was pretty pricey, but well worth it in my opinion. There are many companies to choose from, and many starting points all around Seattle. We chose the Puget Sound Express because they’re family owned, and we drove from Tacoma to the Port of Edmonds to embark.

Almost right away, we saw a couple of grey whales, which the naturalists on board said is rare. They were awesome and enormous. I took a couple of photos, but they didn’t do the whales justice.

Our main attraction was a group of transient orcas that the crew could hear chattering via hydrophone. On our way to see the whales, the naturalists played their live sounds for us over the ship’s speaker system, and it was pretty neat. They also played us a sound recording of resident orcas—the two make very different calls, which was interesting to hear. Below is an image of the pod of orcas we saw. The males have huge dorsal fins, so you can see one of them the best, on the right side of the photo. The other male must have been diving at the time of this shot. On the left side of the photo, you can see a group of females and young whales.

The naturalists aboard the ship gave us some history of the area. We went past Whidbey Island, the site of the Intersectional Justice Conference some of my VO colleagues attended in March. The naturalists also told us about the history of orcas in the Pacific Northwest. They included the story of the captures that used to take place, and they recommended watching Blackfish. They told us that in 1970 more than ninety orcas were herded into a net near the Puget Sound. Since orcas are incredibly sensitive and bonded to their families, many of the adults stayed with their young and were taken too. The whales were rounded up to sell to marine parks like SeaWorld. It’s always a downer to hear sad stories of inhumane treatment of animals, but I was very thankful that the naturalists took the opportunity to educate about this. I recommend readers watch Blackfish if you haven’t yet seen it. In it, there is footage from the Puget Sound capture.

Seeing orcas in the water, swimming with their families, was priceless. I’ll never forget it, or the rest of my trip to Tacoma. If you ever find yourself in the Pacific Northwest, I’d recommend a stop in Tacoma for sure!

Sam Tucker, VO’s Australia & New Zealand Outreach Coordinator, has handed out 30,395 booklets at 27 different schools this semester!

At the University of Melbourne, Sam (above) and volunteers Savannah Rain (below), Alysha Bond, Gali Schell, and Joe handed out 2,450 booklets on March 2—a new record for the Parkville campus!

The following day, Sam teamed with Jenny Li (below), Dilan Fernando, and Kieran Watkins at Monash University, and together they reached more than 2,000 students at the Clayton campus!

At the University of Canterbury on March 17, Sam and volunteer Jennifer Riley (below) handed out 800 booklets:

It’s been a pretty massive first week in New Zealand—traveled all the way from Hamilton to Dunedin (1,300 km driving plus a three-hour ferry between the two main islands) and leafleted three different universities.

Students have been really receptive and friendly—virtually everyone has been taking a leaflet. Already had four people email the address on the back of the leaflet asking for a Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating, and ran into lots of people I knew from high school who have since gone vegan! I used the last of my Compassionate Athlete booklets at UC, which were given to anyone that was wearing a rugby jersey until I ran out.

Sam, Jesse Wheeler, and Kyle Bueno leafleted the Waikato Institute of Technology on March 22 and set a new record for the Hamilton City campus:

We leafleted at Wintec until we hit the point where literally everyone we were offering a leaflet to had already gotten one by the early afternoon, so we did the rest of the day at the University of Waikato. Huge number of people reading straight away and huge number of people who were already vegetarian or vegan.

I had a good conversation with someone who was already vegetarian and keen to go vegan, just needed some more information. On the flip side, there were also a lot of hunters and farmers, as Hamilton is in the middle of a large rural area. I handled that by saying things like, “Even if you hunt, surely you can at least agree that animals shouldn’t be kept in cages so small they can’t even turn around for most their lives,” to which most people agreed and took a leaflet.

Visit Sam’s Team Vegan page and have your donation doubled today! The more money raised, the more animals spared from suffering.

By Josie Moody, VO Office Manager

While it’s still spring for a few more weeks in most of the country, summer is here at the Vegan Outreach headquarters in California! The warm weather has inspired us to add two new items of merch to our collection: women’s cut tanks and lightweight tote bags.

The tanks are heather black, and a racerback, and are made in the good ol’ USA by American Apparel and printed by vegetarian business VGKids. They are a tri-blend of 50% polyester, 25% cotton and 25% rayon. Available in women’s sizes small, medium and large, you can get them here for $17.

You are tote-ally going to love our new bags! (I couldn’t help myself!) Printed by VGKids, these black bags are made from 100% recycled cotton canvas and measure 14.5″ x 15.5″ with 22″ straps. Buy them here for $10.

Is there an item that you’d like to see on our merch page? Let us know in the comments below!

By Josie Moody, VO Office Manager

This week (June 6-12) is Hemp History Week, so we’re highlighting on the blog a few products and recipes containing hemp—all vegan of course!

Our friends at Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps invited us to participate, so we’re dedicating this first blog post to them. Dr. Bronner’s uses hemp oil in all their soaps because of its essential fatty acid (EFA) content. It makes their soaps lather smoothly and be less drying, and it serves as a great moisturizer in their lotions and balms.

Dr. Bronner’s makes a variety of products, all wonderful. I decided to review their 18-In-1 Hemp Almond Pure-Castile Soap.

The 18 suggested uses (recommended on the side of the bottle) include using it to wash your hair, face, body, and hands, around the house as an all-purpose cleaner, on the floor, and as a laundry detergent, diluted and sprayed on plants to ward off bugs, to wash your fruits and veggies, and even to clean your dog!

I put it to the test by washing my skin, hair, dishes, counters, cupboards, and bathtub with it. The first thing you’ll likely notice (unless you choose unscented) is that it smells wonderful! As I was cleaning, I thought about how much more pleasant it was to clean while smelling almonds, versus the stringent smell of other cleaners. It also made me think, why would I clean my tub (and other surfaces) with a cleaner that isn’t good for your skin or body, when my skin is the only thing that would touch any surface in the tub?!

(Watch our video on How To Give Your Home a Cruelty-Free Makeover).

Needless to say, I thought it worked great as a multi-purpose cleaner, on my dishes, and on my skin. I was concerned it might leave a residue on my dishes or counter, but it didn’t. I did use it in my hair, and had a hard time rinsing it all out. However, I’m glad that I know that in a pinch it is safe to use in my hair as well. (They do have hair specific products too. Check them out here).

One of the most distinguishable features of any Dr. Bronner’s product is all of that text on the labels! I took the time to read it all, and after reviewing this product, I have to agree with their advice: “Enjoy only 2 cosmetics, enough sleep & Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap!”

What else do you use Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap for? Let us know in the comments below!

By Lisa Rimmert, VO Director of Development

My colleague, Victor Sjodin, never ceases to amaze me with his dedication to reducing animal suffering. As if it isn’t enough that he’s VO’s Director of Outreach, or that he leafleted 133,000 people all over India during a grueling ten-week tour earlier this year—now he’s raising money for the Team Vegan matching drive! During Team Vegan, throughout May and June, all donations to Vegan Outreach will be doubled.

Vic speaks out for animals by leafleting because he knows first-hand its effectiveness. He received a Why Vegan booklet himself, at Hofstra University in 2002. The seed was planted, and before long he became vegan and started volunteering for VO as a leafleter. Vic said, “I decided I needed to use my human freedoms and privilege to help others—like the poor, innocent farm animals who have done nothing wrong but were born into terrible suffering.”

Vic was very shy when he first started leafleting, but soon he got used to talking with strangers and, well, the rest is history—nine years of leafleting and working with VO!

I asked Vic why he’s participating in Team Vegan, and why he thinks donating is so crucial to this cause. “Money is the fuel of social change,” he said. And he’s right! We can’t pay for gas, print and ship booklets, or provide hard-working Outreach Coordinators a salary without donations.

Vic added, “Fundraising is vital to the operation and is also inspiring. If everybody gives what they can, together it accumulates to a large figure and we can do so much with it.” I wholeheartedly agree!

For Vic’s Team Vegan fundraiser, he plans to walk a mile for every 50 dollars donated. He came up with the idea after tearing his Achilles tendon (for the second time—ouch). Vic needs to do some rehab to heal that leg, so donating to his Team Vegan page is helping animals and helping Vic at the same time!

Every $50 donation means Vic will walk one mile! Get him moving by donating to his Team Vegan page now.

This semester, Lori Stultz, VO’s Rocky Mountain Outreach Coordinator (below, right), has traveled to 49 different schools, handing out 28,636 booklets, and Holly Brown (below, left) has handed out 8,465 booklets at 21 different campuses!

On February 26, Lori teamed with Alma Williams, Michael Battey, and Ayesha Mohiuddin (below, left) and together they reached more than 1,600 students at the University of Houston:

I had three wonderful, local activists join me and we saturated the campus with literature. Most of the students were very receptive and all of us had conversations with students and professors who stopped to ask questions about farmed animals, or conversations with individuals who were already vegan/vegetarian but were looking for a community in Houston to get involved with.

I think my favorite part of the day was when I overheard a student say, “They used Photoshop on this picture,” pointing to one of the photos of Robert Cheeke. “There is not a way this guy doesn’t eat meat.” I jumped in and talked to the student about vegan athletes and protein, and told him that, yes, Robert Cheeke is in fact that big! I also caught a student athlete reading the Compassionate Athlete [below, right]. He sat there for a good 10 to 15 minutes looking through the booklet.

On March 17, Holly (below), Lori, and local activists reached more than 1,500 students at Middle Tennessee State University. Lori reports:

A big thank you to first-time leafleter Jasper Ohde, who recruited his friends Jordan Davidson and Demon Rogers. Both Jasper and Demon are students at MTSU and in the US Army Reserve. I have a feeling that anyone who received a leaflet from them was surprised to know they didn’t eat animal protein.

We heard from students who wanted to transition from vegetarian to vegan, and an equal number who wanted to start transitioning to a vegetarian diet. Holly and I gave these folks Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating booklets and told them about the Vegan Mentor Program.

Right as we were about to call it a day, I had a student return to me with a booklet I had given him a few minutes before and he simply asked, “Where do I even start?” I have to admit he looked pretty overwhelmed. We started chatting about slowly cutting back on animal food products, and Jasper jumped in to give him his number and enthusiastically volunteered to hang out with him and provide support as he transitions. I talked to Jasper later in the day and he and the other student were already texting each other about vegan food.

On March 23, Lori and Holly handed out 827 booklets at East Tennessee State University:

Holly and I had a very positive experience at ETSU. One student stopped to let me know that she went vegetarian after receiving our leaflet in the past. And later in the day two male students stopped to thank us for being there, which was very surprising because both looked like farmers/ranchers. One of them told us that he tries to eat vegetarian as much as possible. After we called it a day we were walking through the student union and saw a few students sitting at the tables reading through the booklet.

Help inspire more students to go veg: Donate to Lori’s Team Vegan page and receive dollar-for-dollar matching!