Order a Sofritas burrito on Monday, January 26th and get a free veggie burrito voucher! Give it a try and let us know what you think about them!

By Toni Okamoto

Far too often, cats are mistaken for having a selfish, bad attitude. Masha would like to prove that misconception wrong. When she found a baby on the cold streets of Russia, she kept him warm until she had the chance to alert human passersby of his presence.

I love all kitties and I think they’re all wonderful, but if you’re skeptical about their awesomeness…read more about Masha’s story below:

Excerpt from NY Post, January 15, 2015, Hero Cat Saves Baby From Freezing to Death:

Masha, a long-haired tabby cat, saved the life of a baby abandoned in the streets of Russia — after she climbed into the box he was discarded in and kept him warm, health officials said.

“The baby had only been outside for a few hours and thanks to Masha … he was not damaged by the experience,” a hospital spokesman told Central European News.

The whiskered hero even meowed to get the attention of a passerby.

“She is very placid and friendly, so when I heard her meowing, I thought that perhaps she had injured herself,” said Obninsk city resident Irina Lavrova. “Normally she would have come and said hello to me. You can imagine my shock when I saw her lying in a box next to a baby.”

By Toni Okamoto

We’re sad to announce that California has taken a huge step back by overturning its ban on the sale of foie gras.

It is more important than ever for us to continue spreading veganism, since we obviously can’t rely on laws to protect animals.

Excerpts from The New York Times, January 7th, 2015, Judge Overturns California Ban on Foie Gras:

Foie gras is back on the menu in California. A federal judge on Wednesday struck down a state law barring sale of the fatty duck or goose liver, ending a ban that had lasted more than two years.

Animal rights groups have long decried foie gras, which has traditionally been produced by force-feeding ducks and geese, as inhumane. And in 2004, California became the first state to outlaw it; the ban took effect in 2012.

Many chefs across the state, who had lamented the loss of a favored ingredient and led protests against the ban, exploded in celebration after the ruling was announced. “We are freaking out,” said Jon Shook, one of the chef-owners of Animal in Los Angeles. “The person who buys our foie gras called us from the courthouse crying with happiness.”

Ely is one of the most prolific Adopt a College leafleters of the fall 2014 semester: he traveled to 17 different schools, directly handing Vegan Outreach booklets to more than 10,000 students!

In October, Ely teamed with VO’s Southeast Outreach Coordinator, Yuri Mitzkewich, and together they reached 2,000 students in a single day at the University of North Florida:

Another solid visit today for Team VO FL! Got a very friendly reception from the UNF students we met here throughout the day. The take rate was decent, and as the day progressed, the number of students stopping to talk increased steadily. Between me and Ely, we talked the issues over with nearly two dozen curious students over the course of the day.

Among the highlights for me was meeting Mike [above, right] – two years back he’d gone vegetarian to vegan from receiving a leaflet here! Today he’s a musician playing in hardcore punk band No Restraint, who spread the vegan message through their music.

Also super cool was meeting freshman Jackie, member of the UNF vegetarians/vegans club. She got super excited seeing we were on campus spreading the message. We exchanged contact info and she said she’d contact her fellow group members to come out and help leaflet in the spring. She was the first to offer her help, then three more people we talked to ended up wanting to get involved too!

Ely also scored some great conversations; even a few times following interested students, walking with them while talking, so they wouldn’t be late for class. Towards the end of the day, Ely blew me away, doing something I’d never in a million years thought I’d get to see. Handing off to student Zheng Huo [with Ely, above, left], he got her into an extended conversation on everything covered in the Your Choice by switching the discussion over to Mandarin Chinese! So great hearing them get into it; she had questions for him on everything from dairy to the killing of male chicks, to protein, to milk and other dairy and meat substitutes. By her reaction walking off, there was no doubt she was changing her eating habits drastically from their meeting today. More amazing work coming from this awesome new volunteer of ours!

—Yuri Mitzkewich, 10/22/14

Our village? All of you. The generous supporters of Vegan Outreach. Members of the “Vegan Club.”

Our child? This movement. Our work to reduce and ultimately end the suffering of animals caused by demand for food made from them and their products.

Spreading a compassionate lifestyle to the rest of society requires a dedicated group of many thousands of people – and you stepped up! From those doing the outreach, to people donating $5, to those donating $50,000 and everyone in between – all your efforts matter and you are part of some of the most important work being done at this time in history. You are changing the world!

Because of you and others like you, more than $165,000 was donated to Vegan Outreach this holiday season – and this money has been matched dollar-for-dollar, doubling it to over $330,000! What a difference this will make for farmed animals! We will put your contributions to work right away to hand out booklets and spread a message of compassionate eating and living far and wide!

You are on the right side of social change – change that we see happening all the time, in the form of feedback from individuals who received a booklet and went vegan, new animal activists signing up to leaflet, and the ripple effects that come from a world with more vegans – more vegan options in school cafeterias, animal-friendly legislation being passed, and so much more.

You are the village. And our movement is in good hands. Thank you.

By Lisa Rimmert, Donor Relations Manager

I’m a vegan in a non-vegan world. I’m an animal advocate in a world of people who turn a blind eye to animal suffering in favor of continuing the habits that cause it.

Sometimes I am angry. Sometimes I’m sad. It’s easy to feel alone, misunderstood, and outraged by the seeming lack of compassion in the world.

But then I decide to take action – to donate, leaflet, write a letter to the editor, or even share an animal rights documentary with a friend. And it makes me feel better. And taking action is not only better for my mood; it also makes the world that much better for the animals I was sad for in the first place.

Opportunities to take action are available all the time, and right now – on December 30th – the best way to take action for animals is to make a tax-deductible contribution to Vegan Outreach. Your donation today will be matched dollar-for-dollar, doubling your impact. And every dollar donated means more booklets handed out, more vegetarians and vegans, and a better world for animals – and fewer sad and angry days for those of us who advocate on their behalf. Now that’s a win-win!

Donate now at veganoutreach.org/donate.

Leslie Patterson is one of the Adopt a College program’s most dedicated activists. She’s leafleted 8 different campuses this semester, directly handing Vegan Outreach booklets to more than 4,500 students!

Above is Leslie (right) with Tina Czerwinski at South Suburban College last spring. This semester, they leafleted Moraine Valley Community College together for six hours straight and reached 1,040 students:

Very receptive students at this suburban community college. Several students stopped with questions. One student told us he is going vegan and wants to do something to help the animals. He expressed how shocked he was to realize how animals are treated, saying, “It’s like slavery, or the Holocaust!”

—Leslie Patterson, 10/1/14

Only three days left to double your impact for farmed animals: Please Donate Now!

Cat Liguori is one of this semester’s most prolific Adopt a College leafleters. She’s been to 10 different schools this semester, directly handing Vegan Outreach booklets to more than 5,000 students!

Cat is shown above leafleting Everett Community College and below with Simone Fortune at Edmonds Community College, where they teamed with Katelyn Overland and Heather Bolint on 10/22/14. Cat notes, “It was Simone’s first time leafleting and she did amazing.” And Heather reports, “Despite the cold, windy day and pouring rain, we managed to break a new record for this school!”

Below are Kate St. John, Cat Liguori, Heather Bolint, and Aaron Ross at Western Washington University on 10/6/14, after getting VO booklets into the hands of 3,150 students – another new campus record!

Great day leafleting South Seattle Community College. One woman took a leaflet and brought it back a couple minutes later and said, “Seeing those pictures is enough, I’m a vegetarian now.”

—Cat Liguori, 10/2/14

Thanks to everyone who donates to Vegan Outreach, AAC activists were able to reach an all-time record 1,000,000+ students this semester. Together we’re changing so many lives – and with your special year-end donation today, we can expand this much-needed and powerful work even further!

Rob Gilbride and Eleni Vlachos are two of the Adopt a College program’s most dedicated activists. Rob has traveled to 13 different campuses this semester, directly handing Vegan Outreach booklets to more than 8,400 students! Eleni has also been to 13 different schools this fall, directly handing VO booklets to over 6,300 students!

Below are Rob and Syba at the University of Arizona and Eleni at ASU Tempe, where they reached more than 4,000 students in October with help from first-time leafleter Sarah Jaroch!

Rob and Eleni reached another 2,000 students, leafleting two El Paso schools in a single day:

The University of Texas at El Paso is a great campus – immediately there were streams of students in the AAC-instructed leafleting area of Leech Grove (what a great resource this has been for us to avoid going in blindly!). Most students seemed receptive – and really read the brochures as they walked (instead of texting!). One told Rob after getting the Compassionate Choices, “Thanks for sharing this, I am vegetarian but was thinking before about eating meat again. This reminds me why I’m vegetarian.” I also met two vegetarians, introduced them, and talked about creating more campus options. They also got Guide to Cruelty-Free Eating booklets.

Very receptive crowd at El Paso Community College’s Valle Verde campus. We met some veg-leaning students who were happy to get more information about this choice. I heard many discussing the booklets respectfully, and one student sat down to read it in entirety near us. Great day in El Paso…my grandpa’s childhood home (born nearby in a tent in 1910).

—Eleni Vlachos, 10/21/14

Help Vegan Outreach raise $155,000, which will be DOUBLED to help farmed animals – every dollar makes a difference!

Nettie Schwager and Cobie deLespinasse are two of the Adopt a College program’s most dedicated volunteers. Nettie (below, right) has leafleted 6 different campuses this semester, directly handing Vegan Outreach booklets to more than 4,900 students! And Cobie (below, left) has been to 7 different schools this fall, directly handing VO booklets to over 2,800 students!

Oregon State University is the school I leaflet at regularly, so I will be back multiple times this year. I had 500 mixed booklets with me, which I gave out fairly quickly. It took about an hour and forty minutes.

By the way, in August, Alicia Silverstone had a meetup in Portland which I went to. I got to meet, hang out with, and chat with her (and Chris and Bear). It was kind of surreal. She is very nice – warm and friendly. She said she knew VO. I gave her some booklets. Another one of the people there had graduated from OSU. I asked if she had ever gotten a booklet and she said, “Yes! That was what started me on the vegan path!” And when I showed her a Compassionate Choices, she said, “Yeah, that’s it.” That was gratifying.

—Nettie Schwager, 9/29/14

A lot of good feedback at Mt. Hood Community College. Several people talked about wanting to change their diets. Some said that the booklets were sad. A woman said that a friend of hers had been involved in a conversation at another school after booklets were handed out, and she (the friend) had gone vegan.

—Cobie deLespinasse, 9/30/14

Create More Vegans: Click here to have your donation doubled before the December 31 matching deadline!