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Give the Gift of Compassion
Thank you for your continued support of Compassionate Action for Animals. You’ve made our work possible and powerful. Can you continue your support and make a contribution of $50, $25, or $15?
Thanks to your help, we are able to advocate for farm animals. Here’s a few of our accomplishments this year:
- Veg Month. Yes, you read that correctly. This year we expanded Veg Week to be Veg Month. We had a whole month’s worth of events, including hosting renowned vegan chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz, our pledge to be veg, cooking classes, a religious panel, a tour of a chicken sanctuary, and more. Through this month-long series of events, hundreds of participants learned about the cruelty of factory farming, tried new vegan foods, met like-minded animal advocates, and had a great time.
- Bridges of Respect. For over a decade, CAA’s Bridges of Respect Humane Education program has been helping students gain the tools they need to successfully solve problems of animal abuse, environmental decline, and human rights through their individual choices, their work, and their activism for animals. But that’s not all. We have been working to see Humane Education incorporated as a cornerstone in the school system. For example, at Coon Rapids High School, our presentations are included as a regular agenda item at administrative meetings when discussing curricular needs, such as text books. So far this year we have provided 65 presentations at over a dozen schools. We have reached nearly 2,000 students in grades 6-12 with literature, videos, and vegan food samples. With your help, we can increase our outreach to teachers and students and do our part to help make Humane Education a constant feature in our school system’s curriculum.
- Their Lives, Our Voices. We hosted our third conference with prominent speakers from across the country. With an affordable price and great vegan food, animal activists congregated to learn about the latest strategies in fighting exploitation and to meet fellow activists.
These are just a few examples of the work we do. I’m thankful to work with talented, motivated, positive and fun volunteers, donors, and supporters that want to help animals.
Your support has made this possible, and your continued support will help us continue our crucial working going forward. Please make a contribution of $50, $25, or $15 today.
Yours for the animals,
Unny Nambudiripad Development Coordinator P.S. Mark your calendar for our banquet on April 7, 2011!
Find Nearby Restaurants on VegGuide.org from Your Mobile Phone
Finding vegetarian-friendly restaurants on the go just got even easier!
On VegGuide.org, we've made the "Nearby" section of our homepage, which lists nearby vegetarian-friendly restaurants, even more precise by tapping into the power of the latest smart phones.
To find nearby vegetarian-friendly restaurants, simply go to VegGuide.org in your phone's web browser.
A message may pop up asking you if you wish to share your device's location with VegGuide.org.
For example, on an iPhone, it will look like this:
After tapping "OK" to share your location with VegGuide.org, a list of the closest vegetarian-friendly restaurants should appear in the "Nearby" section of the VegGuide.org homepage.
Make sure to put a link to VegGuide.org on your phone's desktop for easy access. You can do this on the iPhone by tapping the "+" button at the bottom of the screen, then tapping the "Add to Home Screen" button, and following the prompts.
Now you'll always be able to easily find the closest vegetarian-friendly restaurant wherever you are!
December Volunteer of the Month
When Dee was just 15 years old she decided to stop eating meat and she became vegetarian. As she continued to educate herself more about vegetarianism and animal rights issues, it did not take long for her to transition into veganism. Dee has been active with animal rights and has volunteered at events such as the Thanks Living Festival in New York.
After Dee moved to Minnesota, she found CAA on Meetup. It was at Meetup events where Dee met fellow CAA volunteer Jin Dalsin. Today Dee and Jin coordinate the Vegan After Darks. When Dee is not working or volunteering she enjoys nature, reading, yoga, and indulging in great vegan food and wine.
Stop by a Vegan After Dark and introduce yourself to December's Volunteer of the Month Dee Hanson!
Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck Wrap Up
It was a full house at Matthews Recreation Center on Saturday. Most of those in attendance brought a dish to share and wow did we have a wide variety of dishes to choose from! From traditional Tofurky and Field Roast roasts to several stuffings; super soups to happenin' hot dishes; all the way down the line to the don't blink twice or they'll be gone desserts.
Before people made their trip for seconds, many stopped by to purchase raffle tickets. Tickets were being sold for $1 a piece and items raffled included: bodylish gift basket, "cheese" lovers gift basket, a years supply of Newman O's cookies, Esse reusable bags, Bright Sun candle, vegan smores gift basket, breakfast gift basket, Do It Green! catalogs, skin care products from Super Salve, apparel from Northern Sun, books from Vegetarian Resource Group, a years subscription to the Vegetarian Journal, a free nutrition consultation and a veg friendly lunch box!
Check out our Thanksgiving Recipe page for great recipes ideas this holiday season. Also, make sure to take a look at the pictures!
An extra special thanks goes out to all of the donors who contributed gifts to the Potluck: Tofurky, Field Roast, bodylish, Esse, Bright Sun Candles, Super Salve, Do It Green!, Northern Sun, Suzy Sorensen and the Vegetarian Resource Group. Also thanks to our graphic design volunteer Nicole Riner for creating the fliers, thanks to Sofia Huerter and Amanda Lewis for creating the beautiful decorations, thanks to Steven Palacios and Giovanna Nido for photographing the event and thank you to the dozens of other volunteers who contributed their time on Saturday to make the day a true success! A final big thanks to all of those who brought a dish, because after all what's a potluck without great food!?
CAA is Looking for a Volunteer Office Manager
CAA is looking for a volunteer Office Manager at our 2100 office. The Office Manager position is a volunteer staff position, so it is unpaid. There are perks including free parking, access to office refreshments (coffee, tea and snacks), a free CAA t-shirt and more! If you are interested in the position, please e-mail Danielle your cover letter and resume.
CAA also has a number of other Volunteer Staff positions open. We currently have several dedicated Volunteer Staff members, but we are always looking for more. If you are looking for something with less time commitment then take a look at our volunteer opportunities. For more information on volunteer opportunities, please fill out a volunteer form, and the Director of Volunteer Programs will get in touch with you.
Adopt a Turkey this Thanksgiving!
Turkeys have been synonymous with Thanksgiving for many years. However, many people are unaware of the suffering that these beautiful birds go through on factory farms. In just one year over 250 million turkeys are raised for slaughter in the U.S., 46 million for Thanksgiving alone. These birds are often debeaked and detoed without any form of anesthesia. Turkeys that survive this inhumane treatment are crammed into spaces so tight they are unable to move freely and exercise their natural behaviors.
"Modern" turkeys have been bred to grow at an unnatural rate, leading to even more suffering. In 1965 the average farmed turkey weighed in at around 18 pounds. Today turkeys are reaching slaughter weights of between 28 and 33 pounds. This massive increase in body weight causes severe health problems such as heart attacks and cardiovascular disease.
This holiday season, we encourage you to participate in Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-a-Turkey project. Adoptions start at $30 and you receive a certificate along with a picture and description about your turkey!
You can also attend or hold cruelty free dinners. Check out the listings in your area for Vegan Thanksgiving and Holiday Potlucks at sites such as Gentle Thanksgiving and Farm Sanctuary.
CAA will be holding our own Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck on Saturday, November 20th. If you've never prepared a vegan meal, don't fret, CAA is also hosting a Vegan Thanksgiving Cooking Class on Thursday, November 18th.
November Volunteer of the Month
Jin Dalsin has always considered herself as an advocate for those without a voice. While Jin had previously spent much time and passion in the field of animal rights, it was soon after her transition into veganism in which she wanted to find new connections. In her search to meet like minded individuals, Jin came across CAA several months ago when she was searching for groups using the Meet-Up social website. Here she became invovled with events such as the Summer Camping Trip and Vegan After Darks.
It was during CAA Meet-Up events when Jin met Dee Hanson. Jin and Dee soon became friends and were both interested in taking on some volunteer roles with CAA. Jin and Dee mutually decided that taking on a volunteer role would be much more enjoyable and much less stressful if they worked together.
Jin enjoys spending her free time with her pug, socializing at events, cooking, reading and is possibly considering taking up snowshoeing this winter!
Donation Opportunity for Federal Employees
Do you work in Minnesota for the federal government? We have a new way for you to donate! Federal government employees can donate using payroll deduction through the Combined Federal Campaign. The campaign is already underway, so enroll today!
Compassionate Action for Animals' charity code is 74755. You can enroll online or at your work place. The Combined Federal Campaign is a convenient way to donate and support our work to advocate for animals.
Help Compassionate Action for Animals advocate for animals by providing your financial support. Your support is what makes Veg Month, leafleting, our Thanksgiving Potluck, and everything we do possible!
2010 Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck
Dust off your Tofurky basters and fire up that oven because CAA's annual Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck is less than one month away! This years potluck will be held at Matthews Park on Saturday, November 20th from 3:30PM-6:30PM. We encourage you all to exercise your amazing cooking and/or baking talents and come with dish in hand. If you truly doubt your skills, no worries, just bring along a non-alcoholic (vegan) beverage to share.
Entertainment will be a buzz with our raffle (tickets are $1 each) and spoken word. All in attendance are welcome to share a story, poem, song or any other form of spoken word which captivates the thankful essence of this holiday.
If you are interested in bringing a dish, please contact Angela (this way we can keep track and make sure we do not end up with 100 Vegan Pumpkin Pies…although as a fan of pumpkin pie, I would not be all that disappointed).
If you are unsure what to bring, there are plenty of helpful vegan cooking sites out there that offer fantastic recipes. Here are just a few to mention:
Should you have any further questions regarding the event, volunteering or what have you, contact Danielle. We look forward to seeing you all there!
VegMonth Halfway In!
We are at our halfway point for VegMonth, with plenty of activities yet to come. So far we have had our Kick-Off event, a Sanctuary Tour, a Vegan After Dark, a Cooking Class and our Speaker event with Isa Chandra Moskowitz! Check out our CAA Pictures to see all the fun that was had.
If you have not signed up to take the pledge, you still have time and can pledge for one or two weeks yet. If you have signed the pledge, make sure you come to one of our awesome events to pick up your pledge card. Events taking place next week include:
- Dine-out at Evergreen on Sunday the 17th at 7PM: Evergreen serves a wide variety of Chinese dishes, including Cantonese, Taiwanese, and Hakka specialties. They have a LOT of vegetarian and vegan options, including many different mock meats, which are prepared using a separate cutting board and wok.
- Religious Panel at Harriet Church on Thursday the 21st at 7PM: This panel will focus on the connection between Judaism and animal rights.
- Vegan After Dark at Thom Pham's Wondrous Azian Kitchen on Friday the 22nd at 8PM: Come get your wok on at Thom Pham's Wondrous Azian Kitchen! Enjoy a cool drink or a sizzling platter of mock duck straight from Thom Pham's famous kitchen!
- See all VegMonth 2010 events