Chloe said she became vegetarian at age 9 during a family dinner. Though her parents didn’t become vegetarian, she feels lucky they were supportive.
Chloe wrote: “I founded my vegetarian club at Yorktown High School, called Students Advocating Vegetarian Eating (SAVE) in my sophomore year, and have been president since. Through the club, I met with the Food and Nutrition Services directors at Yorktown High School. The directors agreed to add falafel, bean wraps, couscous salad, and tomato sauce (instead of meat sauce) to the school menu and we designed a labeling system to facilitate eating vegetarian and vegan in the cafeteria. I brought speakers, such as from the Humane League, to talk to 500 students about factory farming and the benefits of vegetarianism. I successfully advocated adding plant based nutrition to the Yorktown High School teacher’s health curriculum. My club has given out 2,000 food samples. We were awarded $945, mostly from Veg Fund, to do so … The club was originally called ‘The Animal Rights Club,’ but I decided to change the branding to focus more on vegetarianism … I started the school garden through the Roots and Shoots club at my high school. I mentored a fellow club member to apply for a grant from the Pollination Project for $1000. We also raised $842 through a fundraising partnership with Chipotle … We grew plants such as basil and broccoli and we delivered them to the cafeteria to be included in the school’s meals.”
Chloe said when she started these activities she couldn’t find a youth activist and felt isolated. “Then I realized that if there was no youth vegan community, I would create one. That is how I founded Vegetarian and Vegan Youth (www.VegYouth.com), a non-profit network of student leaders and youth … I built the VegYouth 110-page website myself. I wrote over 50 articles about vegetarianism and veganism and about starting student groups … I hired three unpaid summer interns and managed 25 volunteers. I correspond with an advisory board of 16 leaders in the vegetarian movement.
Chloe’s references said about her: “I can wholeheartedly say that I have never met another 17-year-old with such fervor and drive … I consider Chloe to be a force of nature … She is being viewed as one of the top movement builders for vegan and vegetarian youth nationwide.”
Chloe stated, “I had a shy personality growing up and had to overcome it to do much my vegetarian activist work … Initially I was perfectionistic and had extremely high expectations for activism … I felt as if I had to give out 1,000 samples in each sampling event. With time I learned to let go and appreciate each small success, and I realized that they add up to a lot.”
Beyond college, Chloe hopes “to have a career that addresses multiple world challenges. I would like to improve the food system and food policy to make healthy, sustainable food cheaper and more abundant … Vegetarianism already encompasses so many social justice issues that I care about – the environment, human rights, hunger, health, and animal rights …” She said with this scholarship, “the financial support would free me to be able to support many more teens and college students to become vegetarian and leaders for vegetarianism.”
To apply for the 2016 Vegetarian Resource Group college scholarships, go to:
https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm
To financially support additional scholarships or internships, you can donate
at www.vrg.org/donate; The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203; or call (410) 366-8343 9am-5pm ET Monday through Friday.