For the month of July, TheVegetarianSite will donate a portion of your purchase to The VRG. TheVegetarianSite offers non-leather shoes and clothing, cruelty-free personal care products, books, videos, food, and more.
We thank them and we'd like to thank you for supporting The Vegetarian Resource Group!
Shop at: [ http://thevegetariansite.com/ ]
I am writing to report a successful year of college that could not have happened without your scholarship support. Please accept my thanks again. Here is an update of my work.
Academically, my current college GPA is 3.94 and I am on the path toward graduating a year early. I took my major's introductory course, Environmental Policy and Planning, and found it to be a perfect fit for my interests.
During the spring semester, I successfully conducted a campaign to encourage Virginia Tech Dining Services to provide more vegan and vegetarian options. Options have flourished in the past decade, including an entire buffet devoted to vegetarian food, so instead of a confrontational demand for better choices, I decided on a thank you letter reading "Thank you for improving Vegetarian and Vegan options! Please keep up the good work!"
I worked with the newly forming Animal Rights @VT club (I am the vice president), the Environmental Coalition, and Peta2, the college branch of the PETA. We gathered 782 signatures via text message for the Director of Dining Services, Mr. Ted Faulkner. During Earth Week @VT, we gathered signatures and Vegetarian Starter Kits on the school's "Food Day."
After this, I met with Mr. Faulkner on April 29th to give him the letter. During this meeting I gave him a gift of Vegan in Volume, a cookbook published by The Vegetarian Resource Group and donated for the cause by Peta2.
Mr. Faulkner was very appreciative of the gift and the thank you letter. He said, "Sometimes people in my department look at how we strive to get better and at how we've improved and say, 'We've achieved good, we're done.' I will take this letter to them as a reason to keep working." He also asked and I accepted to be the point person for student volunteers on a panel for testing new vegan and vegetarian options in the upcoming year.
Other bits of work: Along with this campaign, I am helping form an Animal Rights @VT club, who did a screening of the movie BlackFish on May 5th. We plan on continuing the campaign for vegetarian options as well as starting to work with animal shelters in the fall. I am the rising Vice President of the Soil and Water Conservation Society @VT. This year the group attended educational forums about sustainable agriculture and built no-till soil displays. I wrote, submitted, and gained approval for a "Green Request for Proposal" of $27,000 to install water bottle refilling stations around campus to reduce plastic bottle use. This was through the VT Office of Energy and Sustainability, for which I will be an intern next school year. I am also actively involved with Ballroom Dance @VT, Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, and the Environmental Coalition (I was a State Lead organizer for Power Shift 2013). This summer I will be working as the Lead Organizer for the Solar Schools Initiative, a program to install solar power on all of Albemarle County schools. Best wishes! - Amory Fischer, Environmental Policy and Planning, Virginia Tech class of 2016, VRG 2013 Scholarship winner
VRG also received this note from Nora Allen RD, a previous VRG scholarship winner. She recently volunteered to exhibit for us at the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Dietetic Association. Nora said, "Thank you for the opportunity to represent an organization I am passionate about! And of course, being a great source of evidence based information for my patients and fellow practitioners. I would not be a dietitian without your help!
For information about the next college scholarship contest, please see
[ http://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm ]
Thank you to the following volunteers for helping with responding to 2013-2014 scholarship entrants:
Donations towards VRG scholarships and internships can be made at www.vrg.org/donate
In a further effort to help young people think creatively about vegetarian and/or vegan advocacy, The Vegetarian Resource Group is pleased to be offering the Vegetarian Video Scholarship Contest again in 2014! We will be offering one $500 award and two $250 awards. The deadline for this scholarship is July 15, 2014.
Applicants should create and submit a video relating what they want to tell others about veganism.
Some possible topics include: food, nutrition, your feelings about veganism, water usage and vegetarianism, veganism and animal rights, or other vegan topics which appeal to you. Humor and feelings are appreciated. All videos should be positive, not be critical of anyone, and not include any footage of animal cruelty. You may submit a video you have already made.
Click here to find out more about scholarship rules and how to apply.
[ http://www.vrg.org/videoscholarship.php ]
Not sure where to start? Check out past winner, Noam Lautman's, "NO MORE MEAT"
below or browse other past winners' videos.
[ http://www.vrg.org/veg_videos.php ]
Job opening for executive chef at Sublime in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. We are located 10 minutes from the beach and downtown. This vegan restaurant has received countless accolades for decor, food, and service. Locals, celebrities, and politicians dine at Sublime. Sublime's rooftop garden is one of two gardens supplying some ingredients. Salary commensurate with ability. Send resume to [email protected]
By Nina Casalena, VRG Outreach Coordinator
Spring is a particularly busy time for groups such as The Vegetarian Resource Group engaging in educational outreach. Thankfully, we have had an amazing team of volunteers eager to represent VRG at various events during the month of April!
We started the month off exhibiting at Worcester VegFest in Worcester, MA on April 6th. Our amazing volunteers, Eric Sharer MPH RD, Reed Mangels PhD RD, and Arnie Alper MD, engaged with a steady stream of visitors about the many benefits of vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, offered a variety of vegan cookbooks for sale, and handed out tons of great educational materials to vegetarians and omnivores alike!
Later in the month, on April 24th, we switched gears and exhibited at the
PA Academy of Dietetics Annual Meeting in Bethlehem, PA. Our wonderful volunteer
and registered dietitian, Nora Allen RD, LDN, took full responsibility for
representing VRG at this professional conference, and acted as a wonderful
advocate for healthy and nutritional vegetarian/vegan diets. Nora was a previous
Vegetarian Resource Group scholarship winner. See
[ http://www.vrg.org/student/2007winners.htm ]
April 26th was a particularly busy day for VRG as we exhibited at two events in Baltimore: the Spring Into Good Health Festival in Pigtown, as well as Greenwork's EcoFest in Druid Hill Park. The Spring Into Good Health Festival was sponsored by Paul's Place, a community outreach center in Southwest Baltimore, and aimed to promote strategies for health and wellness for local residents. VRG was the only vegetarian group on site and many patrons took interest in decreasing the amount of animal products in their diets. This booth was particularly special because it allowed volunteer, Matt Baker RN and staff member Nina Casalena, to better reach those from low-income backgrounds, who may have limited access to information about plant-based eating and the vegan lifestyle.
At Greenwork's EcoFest, volunteers Mark Rifkin MS, RD, LDN and Chris Dietrich engaged with environmentally conscious patrons about how vegetarian and veganism can be an important aspect of sustainable living. Mark even brought his own visual display on the impact of animal agriculture on the environment and global climate change.
April was a wonderful month for booths and I anticipate the rest of the season will bring many more amazing opportunities for veg outreach. I would just like to thank all of our incredible volunteers again for all of their patience and hard work! Everyone here at VRG feels extremely lucky to have each and every one of them on our team.
To volunteer at VRG outreach booths, please contact Nina at [email protected] To support VRG outreach, please donate at www.vrg.org/donate
To join The Vegetarian Resource Group, please go to [ http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php ]By Devlyn Perugini, VRG Intern
Over the weekend, May 31st to June 1st, The Vegetarian Resource Group held a booth at the 18th annual Charles Village Festival in Baltimore, Maryland. This is a yearly festival filled with live music, vendors, crafts, a 5K race, and the Charles Village Garden Walk.
On Saturday, we worked with Mark Rifkin, a vegan dietitian. Mark was able to give professional opinions to people with health concerns. Mark was a reliable source who was taken seriously. Chris Dietrich worked with us on Sunday. Chris is an animal rights activist. He was very passionate about promoting vegetarianism and it showed through his enthusiastic conversations. Chris suggested an alternative to meat, called, Beyond Meat, which a lot of people seemed to be interested in. Miss Mason Dixon, Cara Marero, helped us on Sunday. See
My experience with working at the booth was truly amazing. I realized that I love talking about vegetarianism and could do it all day long! I felt like I truly made a difference for a good amount of people visiting the booth.
For example: There was an older man who was hesitantly approaching us. I offered him one of our Journals and asked if he had any questions. He told me that he had tried to be vegetarian but had a difficult time. He was hungry and couldn't make it affordable. I showed him the My Vegan Plate informational paper and pointed to the protein section. I explained to him that he could buy beans and rice in bulk and experiment with different types of tofu and alternatives. He didn't know that there were different types of tofu and seemed excited when I told him that they're easily found in grocery stores. I had an in-depth conversation with him and his wife. They both were pleased and seemed relieved that they had new information to assist them. Before they left, the man thanked me and told me that he was going to try being vegetarian again. He was happy and it was rewarding to see that.
In short, I really enjoyed working at the booth. I felt so proud to stand with The Vegetarian Resource Group.
If you would like to volunteer at VRG booths, contact Nina at [email protected]
If you would like to intern at VRG go to
[ http://www.vrg.org/student/index.php ]
If you would like to support VRG outreach, donate at www.vrg.org/donate
To join VRG go to [ http://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php ]
Thank you to all of our amazing volunteers who made this booth possible, including Mark Rifkin, Devlyn Perugini, Matthew Baker, Cara Marrero and Chris Dietrich!
Take 20% off authentic Indian cuisine and organic bean pouches from Jyoti Natural Foods. Use code JYOTI20.
Basmati rice, Punjabi Chhole (chickpeas), black beans, and more.
Visit [ http://www.jyotifoods.com/products/ ]
PAX is a nonprofit Department of State designated international high school exchange program. We have exceptional students that come from over 70 countries around the world. These students have been picked out of thousands of applicants. Students come fully medically insured, and are responsible for all personal expenditures. Host families are asked to provide living arrangements, a suitable study environment, and participation in family meals. During the year, students attend local high schools- the details in which we at PAX arrange. Also, throughout the entire stay students and host families are supported by a local community coordinator.
This year we are searching for host families for some of our exceptional students that are vegetarians. We at PAX feel it would be best to place these students with families that are familiar with a vegetarian diet.
It is our hope that you can share this information about PAX with your members and have anyone interested in hosting or learning more about our program contact me at [email protected]
More information can also be found on our website at www.pax.org.
If interested, I can send over profiles of certain students we have available that will sure to be a match for any family!
Hosting truly is a rewarding experience. In fact, most of our host families say the hardest part of the exchange was saying goodbye to their new son or daughter at the end.
Thanks in advance for your support.The Vegetarian Resource Group greatly appreciates the support given by our monthly donors. You can join our monthly giving group with a minimum gift of just $10 a month by going to www.vrg.org/donate. You will be part of a network of givers who support our outreach efforts on an ongoing basis. These donations allow us to continue vegan education in a wide variety of venues including schools, doctor and dietitian offices, libraries, various professional conferences, animal rights events, health fairs, environmental festivals, and much more. Thank you for your support!
The dinner will be catered by Soul Vegetarian Restaurant. Choices will include: crisp vegetable tray, garden salad and prince dressing (house dressing made with soy milk), dinner rolls, cornbread, tender greens, sweet potatoes, herb-baked potatoes, green beens, southern style baked BBQ tofu, smothered steak with gravy and onions, cheesy-spinach-tofu lasagna, mediterranean cauliflower with couscous, apple or vanilla cake, and lemonade.
The dinner will be taking place at Morehouse School of Medicine, GA and the payment will be $25 before September 1, 2014 and $30 anytime after that date.
For more information, look at:
[ http://www.vrg.org/blog/2014/04/02/vegan-dinner-in-atlanta-georgia-sunday-october-19-2014/ ]
Our health professionals, activists, and educators work with businesses and individuals to bring about healthful changes in your school, workplace, and community. Registered dietitians and physicians aid in the development of nutrition-related publications and answer member and media questions about vegetarian diets. The Vegetarian Resource Group is a non-profit organization. Financial support comes primarily from memberships, donations, bequests, and book sales. The Vegetarian Journal, a print magazine, is a benefit of membership in The VRG. (For more information, please see the Vegetarian Journal online.)
If you would like to make a donation, become a member, volunteer, or find out more about The VRG, contact us at:
Like us on Facebook: [ http://www.facebook.com/thevegetarianresourcegroup ]
Follow us on Twitter: [ http://twitter.com/VegResourceGrp ]
Donate: [ https://www.givedirect.org/give/givefrm.asp?CID=1565 ]
The contents of this newsletter, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your own best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.
VRG-NEWS is the e-mail newsletter of The Vegetarian Resource Group. This is an announcement list so subscriber messages are not accepted by the list. If you have a technical question about the list, please contact us at [email protected]. If you have any suggestions, ideas, or corrections to VRG-NEWS, please direct them to [email protected]. Thanks!
To subscribe, unsubscribe, or otherwise manage your subscription to VRG-NEWS, [ http://lists.vrg.org/mailman/listinfo/vrg-news_lists.vrg.org ]
If you are a new subscriber, you might enjoy reading past issues of VRG-NEWS
online at
[ http://www.vrg.org/vrgnews/ ]
Contents of VRG-NEWS are copyright 2014 by The Vegetarian Resource Group. The newsletter may be freely distributed in electronic or print form provided its contents are not altered and credit is given to The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203
--Please support our outreach and assistance to others!
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The VRG is an educational non-profit group providing information on vegetarianism & veganism.
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The contents of this website and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal and Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.
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