25 Years Young, and Counting...

Thank you to The Vegetarian Resource Group donors who set up The Eleanor Wolff Intern Scholarship. Eleanor Wolff became a totally committed vegan late in life once she learned and understood that there were many good reasons for making this change. This is a $2,000 paid internship for a student who 1) wants to be an effective change agent in a society based on meat, 2) is motivated to use knowledge gained from the internship to make a significant impact within their world and beyond, if possible, and 3) could not participate in this developmental effort without a little financial assistance.

Internships are a great way to give young adults professional experience they wouldn’t obtain by other means. They are exposed to new people and learn about various career paths. Currently, there is a whole infrastructure in the United States that bestows scholarships, encouragement, awards, and jobs upon individuals who want to pursue a career based on harming people or animals. Each time donors set up scholarships and internships for alternative paths, they are changing the very underpinnings of society, which will lead to a more compassionate world.

For 25 years, the Vegetarian Resource Group has believed it is important to assist young people. We fondly remember one of our first organizational meetings when one of ‘our’ vegan babies took her first steps, just like the group. Recently, we served vegan cupcakes from Chef Nancy Berkoff’s upcoming book at an 8-year-old’s birthday party. The kids loved them; however, we “weren’t allowed” to tell anyone what was in the cupcakes since the non-vegetarian kids had already made it known that soymilk is yucky. Imagine—no butter, no animal ingredients, just ‘stealth’ soymilk.

If you want a vegetarian world, it’s necessary to reach young people. This is why The VRG gives away tens of thousands of coloring books, activity placemats, and teen brochures. We’ve sponsored our essay contest for more than 20 years. Chef Berkoff recently gave a workshop for school food service staff. This fall, we had an outreach booth at the meeting of the American Academy of Family Physicians to educate doctors about vegetarianism.

For information concerning some of the great work that high schoolers are doing, read about the winners of our two $5,000 college scholarships. When we were young, it was amazing if there was one vegetarian in an entire school. Today, almost every class seems to have at least one person who doesn’t eat meat. But the kids can still feel very different and alone. It’s important that vegetarian groups continue to support young people and those who work with students. If you would like to sponsor additional scholarships, internships, or outreach to youth, please send a note to [email protected]. Thank you for caring.