Team Vegan!

From Jon Camp

2010-08-05T17:03:00.000-07:00

Friends,

I just wanted to send you my most sincere and hearty thanks for your support of Team Takoma Park this year! Team Vegan was a smashing success. After reaching the $75,000 matching donation, separate donors stepped up to add an additional $21,500 to the mix -- making it $96,500 available to be matched. Thanks to your support, we reached this, meaning that just shy of $200k was raised. We're looking forward to an incredibly prolific year of college outreach coming up and this will now be possible due to your generosity.

Again, thank you so much! Your support of this life-saving work on behalf of animals means the world to us.

Sincerely,

Jon

Bolder Boulder

2010-08-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

Keep sending in those reports!

Mark Grover:

I ran Bolder Boulder 2010 on Memorial day this year. It's an annual 10 kilometer road race held in Boulder, CO and the largest race in the U.S. in which all participants are timed. It was my first time participating in any race and it didn't matter how much I clocked, it was going to be my personal record!

It was beautiful day although it was a bit cold to start with. This year, around 54,000 people registered in the race. There were many live music bands playing all along the route. Two of my favorites were a singer impersonating Elvis (I hear, he is there every year) and a band dressed in an enlarged version of baby jumpsuits. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw them, perhaps that's the reason why I didn't feel the pain in my legs during the race. Overall, it was a blast.

I will definitely do it again next year and try to get another personal record. Go Team Vegan!

You Rock!

2010-07-31T16:15:00.001-07:00

Just sent to all the members of Team Vegan.

Yeeee-haw!

Anyone who has checked the Team Vegan site lately will have noticed that you have done it!!

Team Vegan rose to the challenge, and will be able to put all matching money to work for the animals!

Dozens of you have stepped up in the past week, doubling their money's impact for the animals. $99,468.50 to create real, lasting change in our society!

As though to emphasize this, we just got a phone call here from someone in Portland who said, "I got your booklet, and you've made me a vegetarian. Thanks so much for the information. Thank you."

Let me repeat: You Totally Rock!

Group barbaric yalp!

-Matt

Last Hours for Matching Challenge!

2010-07-30T13:06:00.000-07:00

Team Tacoma Park's Jon Camp met Tae and Jeff (left) and Judy (right) at this year's TAFA -- just a few of the countless folks who stopped eating animals after receiving a Vegan Outreach booklet, and then went on to get active for the animals!

Want to learn more about this work? Check out this week's Friday video!

If you believe in this work, please help us meet Team Vegan's matching goal. The opportunity to double your donation ends tomorrow, so please head over to the Team Vegan page, make a donation to Jon's page, or another member, or the general fund.

As Erik Marcus says here, "I doubt there’s another animal protection group that compares to Vegan Outreach in terms of doing massive outreach where it’s needed most."

You can expand this work with your support!

Thanks so much!!

-Matt

Please promote this post & help VO help animals.

Jim in San Fran!

2010-07-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

Jim Hillman broke 3:30 at the San Francisco Marathon!

If you'd like to congratulate him, you can help him reach his fundraising goal -- thanks!

Todd Shatters PR!

2010-07-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

Ultra-Coach Dan K writes:

One of my Team Vegan runners, Todd Lee, got his PR. His previous best marathon time was 4h26m. Now is PR is 3h48m!

Note -- this is nearly a minute and a half faster per mile!

If you'd like to congratulate Todd, please visit his page. Thanks!

One Week, and Noora

2010-07-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

One week left to put the matching money to work for the animals. Please help however you can!

Noora Kaunisto writes:

My slice of Vegan team training is relaxed and fun, but also enthusiastic, activity. Training has been a big part of my life as long as I can remember, and now it includes weight training 3-4 times a week and different kinds of aerobic training in between. This summer the aerobic part has been running (which I love the most), walking, cycling and kayaking. I emphasize the good old squats, pull-ups, deadlifts etc done with bars, barbells and dumbbells. One of the many good things about summer is the quite obvious and well justified need to have a big tofu ice cream as the immediate recovery of hard training :)

Team Vegan is a great way to make training even more useful, fun and inspiring. I promised in my profile to train hard enough to be able to make 10 pull-ups, if the donations through my Team Vegan page reached 200 dollars. Well, that happened and, I'm excited and proud to say, the pull-ups happened, too! My next challenge is to attend some cross-country running competition as I promised, when the donations got even higher :)

I haven't been competing since childhood, so it's going to be adventurous...

Training is fun and gives a nice feeling of strength, health and self-esteem. But still, I feel the biggest inspiration for my activities is to "show everyone" (haha, now that sounds pretty corny) that vegans aren't pale, tired crickets, shivering in the funnily bohemian pubs. I've been a vegan now for three years, after being a vegetarian for about ten years. Training has never felt this good before :)

Can you please help Noora help meet her fundraising goal?

Talbot Shows Vegan Power!

2010-07-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

"I've been vegan for four months now. Originally, it was a Why Vegan? pamphlet that made me go vegetarian four years ago."

Please help Alexa Talbot convince more people to go veg!

Free the Matching Money!

2010-07-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Team Vegan is in the homestretch now!

These are the final days of the matching challenge, when you can double your donation, and put more of the matching money to work for the animals. More donations, more booklets, more new vegetarians!

You can read more in today's Enewsletter, or you can go right to the Team Vegan site, make a tax-deductible donation to a team member, or to the general fund.

Or you can send a check to: Vegan Outreach | PO Box 30865 | Tucson, AZ 85751
All checks dated before August 1 will be doubled!

Please help today! We'll be sure to do our best to make sure your contribution -- doubled, dollar-for-dollar! -- has the maximum impact!

Thanks so much!

Kenny Models the Shirt

2010-07-20T14:32:00.000-07:00

You can help Kenny meet his fundraising goal!

Cookin' Up Support

2010-07-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Master Chef Jesse Miner's latest enewsletter included this plug:

Running 1/2 Marathon / Vegan Outreach Fundraising

I have once again joined Team Vegan, training for the San Francisco 1/2 marathon on Sunday July 25th. This is an exciting opportunity to be an inspiring role model for healthy living and to raise funds for the nonprofit grassroots organization Vegan Outreach. I am currently $500 from my fund-raising goal, and I would greatly appreciate your donations, both to encourage my fitness goals and to assist Vegan Outreach's campaigns to spread their message of health and compassion. You can view my Team Vegan profile and make a donation here.

As you can see at the Team Vegan site -- we need your help to meet our goal!

Member Update, July 5

2010-07-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Lisa Johnson:

Unfortunately a recurrent back injury has sidelined my running efforts, but I'm not going to let a little pain stop me! I'll be walking the 5K on July 31 in support of my beautiful animal friends. GO TEAM VEGAN!!!

Member Update, July 1

2010-07-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

Jesse Miner: Quick update: I enjoyed a beautiful 9-mile run across the Golden Gate Bridge on Sunday 27 June, wearing my Vegan Outreach t-shirt of course! Two more long runs, and I will be ready for the San Francisco 1/2 marathon on July 25th.

Member Update, June 30

2010-06-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

Cathy Berlot is this year's winner of the highly coveted “Crazy Cat Lady Trophy”. Read her winning entry, and see the crazy cat lady action figure here: http://www.fur-ever-friends.org/events.html

Todd Lee (Jhakarin Leelhasuwan) writes:

My marathon training is going well. The schedule that Dan Kuzma made for me has been more than helpful, in terms of frequency, length and challenge. If everything holds up, and I remain injury free (crosses fingers), I can confidently say that this will be the best prepared I've ever been for a marathon.

Member Update, June 26

2010-06-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

Patrick Broderick goes abroad:

I ended up leaving for my study abroad in Mexico earlier than expected. So I find myself in a society a little less acquainted with the movement for animal rights and reliant on a host family for meals.

Luckily, I have a pretty understanding family. They've made changes to the meals they serve me so that they are free of meat and obvious dairy and egg products. I don't want to create an unreasonable amount of work for people nice enough to let me into their home. This is not just an exchange of calories -- it's a cultural exchange as well, not to mention a particularly delicate cultural exchange between a thriving developed country with more options (the United States) and a developing nation with fewer options (Mexico).

I also think the essential message to send in this exchange is that there are US citizens very willing to eat with a Mexican family, enjoying their cuisine, while maintaining a different perspective on meat consumption. "Not every American eats nothing but hamburgers," in combination with, "There are some Americans that wish to respectfully share in your food culture," are the two major messages I wish to send on this study abroad trip.

So I guess my message is to vegans who travel abroad from rich countries such as Canada, the United States or Western European countries, is yes, continue being a vegan, but if you find yourself particularly integrated in the culture (such as staying with a host family), just do your best within the context of a respectful cultural exchange. In this particular form of globalized economy, so many cultural ideas are forced. Vegans can be different -- we can be those foreigners who come to our host country with an interesting (hopefully intriguing) idea and do it in a refreshingly respectful manner. Sounds fair, right?

Member Update, June 25

2010-06-25T13:09:00.000-07:00

Jim Hillman
Jim has logged over 617 miles so far in his 18-week marathon training program. He's running the San Francisco marathon in a month - and promises to send photos of himself at the finish line!

Wendy Welsh
Wendy will soon be moving to Panama, where she's sure to read more books and take more lovely photos. Take a look at That Swimming Lizard.

Send your update to Anne (at) veganoutreach (dot) org. Thanks!

Message from Anne

2010-06-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

Hi Team,

Joanna is one of the donors who helped extend the Team Vegan matching. She wanted to relay this message to all of you:

I am enormously pleased to be able to contribute to your amazing fundraising for Vegan Outreach, and I am very grateful for your tremendous efforts on behalf of the animals.

If you could take a minute and send me a thank you for Joanna, I'll compile them and send them on to her. Let's make the deadline Sunday, 27 June.

Thanks so much!
Anne
anne (at) veganoutreach (dot) org

Please Help Folks Reach Goal!

2010-06-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

All Team Vegan members who raise at least $500 for Vegan Outreach by midnight are eligible for a Team Vegan shirt.

If you'd like to help – and have your donation doubled, dollar-for-dollar – members of the Team who are close to $500 include:

Dan Holbert
Ann Parkin
Katie Gray
The Animal Awareness Project

Thanks so much, and happy last day of spring!

And Now for Something Entirely Different

2010-06-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

One of the top Team Vegan members (and donors), Catherine Berlot, shares her experience of her recent trip to to the UK:

It’s not hard at all to find great places to eat and stay in the UK that can cater to vegans. On this trip we stayed in the Highlands of Scotland, Edinburgh, and the Lake District in England.

In the West Highlands, we stayed in Cuildorag House, a vegetarian Bed and Breakfast in Onich, http://www.cuildoraghouse.com/. This is a great area for hiking. We enjoyed hiking on Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, and in the Glencoe area. Cuildorag House is run by Lisa and Iain Glaze, who are friendly and made us feel at home. In addition to a vegan breakfast, which was basically a vegan version of the traditional British cooked breakfast with tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans, and vegan sausage, they offered a vegan dinner, which was great, because there aren’t many if any vegan options in the area. The dinners were delicious, with lots of the vegetables coming from their garden. I was particularly impressed with the pea and nettle soup. We also had a salad with some greens I’d never seen before, a wonderful vegetable stew, and a rhubarb tart for dessert. Another night we had a root vegetable soup, another great salad, a lentil tart, and a fried banana with a caramel and marmalade sauce.

In the Lake District, which is also great for hiking, we stayed at the Lancrigg Vegetarian Country House Hotel, in Grasmere, http://lancrigg.co.uk/. This is a larger establishment than the Cuildorag House and offers lots of amenties, such as Swedish massage, shiatsu, and reiki (non of which we took advantage of), but isn’t as homey because of its size. The food was great and they also served dinner, which again was very welcome after a long day of hiking, since there aren’t lots of vegan options in this area either. The vegan items on the dinner menu were clearly marked and there were additional choices that could be veganized. They had quite a selection. I especially liked their cashew nut loaf. They also had several vegan options for dessert, including apple and pear crumble and a decadent chocolate sundae. The breakfast menu wasn’t as clearly marked and initially it was difficult getting information about what was vegan from the wait staff, primarily college age students from France and other European countries with somewhat limited English. But with some perseverance, we got the information we needed and everything was delicious. There were lots of choices, including fresh fruit, fruit smoothies, tofu, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches, vegan burgers, and a vegan version of the traditional English breakfast.

Edinburgh is a very magical Scottish city that we love to visit for its sense of history, architecture, art galleries, and bookstores. This time we stayed at the Claymore Vegetarian Guest House on 68 Pilrig Street. Email: enquirehere@blueyonder.co.uk. They are working on a web site. The Claymore is run by Cathy Meek and John McCafferty. Cathy is a wonderful warm person. We didn’t meet John, but he cooked great breakfasts, probably the best we had on this trip, which included polenta, potato scones, tomatoes, onions, and mushroom fricassee. This guest house is a bit away from the center of town, but there is a bus stop right in front of it, so it’s easy to get around. It pays to get an all day bus pass for 3 pounds. Another place we enjoyed staying in on a previous visit was the more centrally located Six Mary’s Place Guest House in Stockbridge, http://www.sixmarysplace.co.uk/index.html. They also have nice vegan options for breakfast. Six Mary’s Place is bigger than the Claymore. I preferred the personal friendly treatment we got at the Claymore, but the location of Six Mary’s Place is more convenient. There are quite a few vegan friendly restaurants in Edinburgh, more than we could go to on one visit.

We had two dinners at the David Bann restaurant, http://davidbann.co.uk/, partly because they are open all day, which was convenient for when we went to the theatre. They have some vegan options and many more items that can be veganized. The food was delicious and the wait staff were extraordinarily helpful. I was particularly impressed with a watercress, beetroot, and pomegranate salad and with their homemade smokey tofu with udon noodles. We also had dinner at the wonderful Kalpna Vegetarian restaurant, http://www.kalpnarestaurant.com/. We went to this Indian restaurant many years ago before we were even vegetarians let alone vegans, and it was here that I first learned what vegan meant. At that time and on this visit, I had the vegan thaali, which is a wonderful sampling of many different dishes. We also stopped by the Forest Café on our first morning in the UK for a cup of tea and some flapjacks, sweet bars made with oats, http://www.theforest.org.uk/index.php. It looks like this place is really hopping at night, but we didn’t see for ourselves on this visit.

Shirt Update

2010-06-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hi Team!

Don’t forget!

You are eligible for a limited edition Team Vegan t-shirt if you have raised $500 for Vegan Outreach by June 20! The deadline is approaching….

If you’ve already made the goal, let me know which style/size you’d like (if you haven’t already).

· Running jersey (a lightweight sweat-wicking material, most likely. See Sean Hollick’s page for model: http://teamvegan.biz/team/MrHollick); unisex sizing: Small, Medium, Large, XL

· OR a cotton t-shirt (much like the t-shirts modeled here, except white, with the Team Vegan design above) unisex sizes only; Small, Medium, Large, XL http://www.veganoutreach.org/catalog/merchandise.html#shirts

If you’d rather have a Vegan Outreach t-shirt instead (see link above), please let me know, and I’ll see what I can do. These will be available as our current stock permits. They are available in ladies cut S, M, L (these run small – if you are a unisex M, order a ladies cut L) and unisex, S, M, L, XL.

There’s still time!

Go, team, go!

Anne

New Goal Bar Is Up

2010-06-11T06:19:00.000-07:00

The new goal bar is up, reflecting the potential contributions of new supporters: http://teamvegan.biz/ (Be sure to hit refresh if the bar doesn't load right.)

Remember, raise $500 by June 20, 2010, and you'll and receive our special Team Vegan t-shirt in your choice of a running jersey or cotton t-shirt!

Thanks so much to everyone -- your efforts for the animals are incredible!

New Challenge & Great News

2010-06-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

The good news just keeps coming!

Impressed by this wonderful team (100+ members) and your incredible fundraising, 3 donors have pooled their resources and pledged an additional $21,500 to extend the matching goal to $96,500! Wow!
The goal bar on the website will be updated shortly.

We now have the potential to put $193,000 to work for animals! Let's go for it!
Questions? anne@veganoutreach.org

PS: You might be interested in this news.

You Rock, You Rock, You TOTALLY ROCK!

2010-06-03T12:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's post was about our ability to make a difference.

And that's what the members of Vegan Outreach do – make a difference!

Check out the Team Vegan page, after only 34 days: over $81k!

We know there is a lot of hard work still to be done, and some folks have some new ideas for the rest of Team Vegan this summer.

But right now, let's just cut to the chase:

You totally rock!

New Post: Can You Make a Difference?

2010-06-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

To save bandwidth, I'll just post the link:

http://whyveganoutreach.blogspot.com/2010/06/can-you-make-difference.html

Thanks to everyone who has been working so hard to make Team Vegan a success, to help all our efforts for the animals!

Darina's Message to Friends and Family

2010-06-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

Mega-leafleter and Team Vegan member Darina Smith recently sent a message to her friends and family, and has graciously given permission to repost excerpts; feel free to modify for your own use!

I am taking part in the annual Team Vegan challenge to help animals and the environment. Some people run a marathon or walk for their cause, but I chose an even more relevant activity: a leaflet-a-ton to distribute 5,000 leaflets describing the damage caused by factory farming, and to help people make educated food choices.

You are invited to support me in this goal. Anyone who respects my dedication to helping animals by peaceful, respectable activism with Vegan Outreach, can show their support by a small tax-deductible donation here.

A pool of generous donors is double-matching each dollar raised – if you donate $10 (which you won’t even notice missing), you’ve just created $40 to help animals. This multiple matching opportunity will end tomorrow, June 2nd, 2010, but you can support Team Vegan until July 31.

Others have already contributed a total of $1,050 to my page under Team Vegan fundraising. Help me get to $3,000, and get the gratifying feeling of having done something thoughtful today.

Even if you don’t donate, you are welcome to check out [Vegan Outreach's website] and learn about this movement which, is gaining huge masses of supporters every year.

Just Days Left for Double-Doubling!

2010-05-31T16:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to everyone who has raised money for Team Vegan's Double-Doubling!

Many, many more people will learn about the hidden horrors behind the standard American diet – and the steps they can take to live true to their values – because of your fundraising efforts!

This opportunity to magically multiply money runs from now through 11:59pm Wednesday, June 2. In case you missed earlier emails, more details can be found here.

Please consider helping however you can. Thanks!

Thanks!!

2010-05-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

Been busy around here -- dozens and dozens of folks have contributed to the double-doubling, and we're trying to get everything up as quickly as possible. Team GreenBall is also back in training (Ellen took some time off after track season).

We're also trying to keep up with events on the official VO blog and Facebook page.

But we wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for helping raise money for VO's work, especially since it will go so far! So --- thanks!

Wow! Doubled Doubling!!

2010-05-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

Huge News!

Another donor has come forward to help Team Vegan change the world! Any money donated to a member of Team Vegan from TODAY (May 24th) through and including June 2nd will be doubled immediately by this donor.

That's right – every dollar donated between now and June 2nd will immediately be doubled, dollar-for-dollar, by the same amount from our anonymous donor – up to $1,000 per team member!

And all the money contributed – including the doubling by this anonymous donor – will again be doubled by John and Fany in August! It is win-win-win* for the animals!

Among others, Team Vegan includes such outstanding leafleters as Michelle Cehn, Phil Letten, Darina Smith, Jim Hillman, The Animal Awareness Project – all of whom would greatly appreciate your support!!

Any questions? Please contact us!

* Example – Uncle Eddie and Aunt Nora contribute $50 to VO via your page. An additional $50 also goes up at the same time! Then, in August, John and Fany will donate and additional $100 to Vegan Outreach. $200 worth of booklets reach new people!! So please take advantage of this opportunity!

More from Kellie!

2010-05-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Finishing up Kellie's fundraising suggestions:

·         Do something that is outside your comfort zone. If you can currently run a 5k, say you’ll run a 10k. Or instead of doing one big thing (running a marathon), do two smaller things. Do a leaflet-a-thon and walk a 5k. Donors are more likely to give to people who stretch their limits (but not so much that they can’t complete the task).

·         If appropriate, invite potential donors to come to your race or other event so they can see you complete your task! Donors always like to see follow through and know that it was the right thing to give money to you and Vegan Outreach.

·         Give an incentive: do you bake? "Free vegan cookie with every donation!"

·         Have a fundraiser such as a vegan bake sale. Contact vegfund to see if they would be interested in funding the sale (provided you meet specific requirements).

·         Portray veganism in a light that appeals to each person you’re asking. If you know people who are into the environment, educate them on the environmental aspects of veganism along with the animal ones. The same thing with workers’ rights, world hunger, etc. Make vegan outreach an organization that everyone can relate to and has a stake in.

·         Blog about your fundraising along the way. You can use this as a gentle reminder to friends who have yet to give. The more passion they see from you along the way, the more they will take you seriously and want to help you out. On the same note, if someone gets an update seeing that you only need to raise $200 more to reach your goal, they might be inspired to give that final $200.

·         Reciprocate! When asking friends for donations, remind them that if they ever need a similar favor in the future (provided the organization is animal-friendly), you would be happy to oblige. Or if you have already donated to one of their causes, remind them of that.

Thanks so much to everyone who is raising money for Vegan Outreach. As you might have seen, we’ve reached over half a million students this semester – with your help, we’ll reach even more next term!

Wow!

2010-05-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

Congratulations! 12 ... and a half! Unbelievable!

Vegan Power!!

2010-05-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

Wow -- Jurek sets new record!

"Scott Jurek, a [vegan] Seattle physical therapist and ultramarathoner, broke the American record in the IAU 24-Hour World Championship run Friday in Brive, France, by covering 165.7 miles in the one-day run. Jurek, 36, broke the previous U.S. mark of 162.46 miles set by Mark Godale of Aurora, Ohio, in 1999."

Tips from the Top!

2010-05-13T13:33:00.000-07:00

Team Vegan’s current leading fundraiser, Kellie C, has agreed to offer up some of her best fundraising tips. Only 13 days into Team Vegan 2010, Kellie has gotten $1305 for Vegan Outreach’s work!

Here are some of her tips – we’ll share more later.

Start with your inner circle and work your way out - first contact close friends, then social friends, then acquaintances, then people you used to work with, etc.

Be sure to remind people that all donations are matched, dollar-for-dollar!

Ask for a donation as an early holiday or birthday present.

Ask people/groups that may not be vegan but have a general love for animals (i.e. Rescue groups, wildlife groups). Even if they don’t donate, they might look at Vegan Outreach’s website.

Ask your mom and dad's friends - they can't say no to someone’s child!

Use social networking - facebook, myspace, favorite message boards. Don’t just ask friends on those sites, but post messages to groups you belong to (meetups, facebook groups, etc)

Write up an e-mail about your fundraising campaign and ask your friends and acquaintances to forward it to people they think would be interested.

When asking non-vegans for donations, emphasize why Vegan Outreach is special. Sometimes non-vegans get hostile or intimidated by animal rights organizations, so I like to emphasize Vegan Outreach’s friendly, non-abrasive, well-researched approach to education. You can show them the booklets Compassionate Choices and/or Even If You Like Meat.

As always, please contact us (veganoutreach (at)gmail (dot) com or anne (at) veganoutreach (dot) org) with any questions or comments.

Thank you so much for your dedication to making a better world for everyone!!

Hi Team Vegan!

2010-05-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

My name is Dan Kuzma (a.k.a Vegan Dan), and I have been asked to be an online coach for Team Vegan! I am extremely excited about this opportunity as I am passionate about Vegan Outreach and running! As a long-time runner (competitive and recreational), I have gained great wisdom and knowledge from my own experiences as well as from other runners, and I would like to share with you what I have learned...

The first thing that I have learned (and experienced firsthand) is that every body is different and reacts differently to various types of training programs. Some people can run 10 miles a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The majority of us, including myself, need to balance our training and incorporate rest days to maximize our benefit from running.

I started off running 5k Fun Runs, worked my way up to 10k's and half-marathons, and then sold my soul to the marathon. Eventually, I wanted to see what more I could do, and over the past 3 years I have been running ultramarathons, including numerous 50 mile and 100 mile trail races!

Like many of you, I juggle a busy schedule - full-time school, full-time work, family, friends, activism, and so forth. Running is a part of my life, just like eating, sleeping, and all those other things. I have experimented with many training programs, created a few of my own by adapting already existing plans, and I have helped and guided many friends, family, and even complete strangers in achieving their goals!

I want to help you achieve your goals and raise money for Vegan Outreach to help reduce animal suffering, so please contact me for any assistance!

Once we are in contact, we can communicate through emails, phone calls, or if you are in the Northeast Ohio area, I'd be happy to meet you for some training runs! I am donating my time and energy to help you, motivate you, and answer any and all questions that you may have!

You can email me at vegan200@gmail.com, and we can go from there!

Five Points for Team Vegan Stars!

2010-05-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

Hello Teammate!!

I can't tell you how thrilled and excited I am that you have signed up to be a part of Team Vegan – and actively work to continue and expand Vegan Outreach’s efforts for the animals! As you know, we are dedicated to reducing as much suffering as possible per dollar donated and hour worked – so you can know we'll do our best to make your efforts has as big an impact as possible.

Some important notes:

1. GiveDirect – the third-party site that processes the donations without taking any fees (Vegan Outreach never sees your credit card information) – had been giving errors recently. It is back up now. If someone you know has tried to contribute lately, please ask them to try again. We apologize for the problems.

2. If you haven't finished registering, please complete your profile by midnight (Friday), so we can know who is going to be an active member of the team. Look here:
http://www.teamvegan.biz/team
to see if your page is active, with an image uploaded (doesn't have to be a picture of you).

If you have any questions or problems, just write to me (veganoutreach (at) gmail.com) or Anne (anne (at) veganoutreach.org)!

3. If you have had second thoughts and realize you don’t want to fundraise for Vegan Outreach, that’s fine. There are two ways to opt out – just write back to me or Anne, or set your fundraising goal to $0, and we’ll cut your profile. Then you shouldn’t get any more emails, and we can keep the Team as lean and mean as possible!

4. If you are looking for a hook for fundraising, Mother’s Day could work! Or, as Anne said in the post below, you can ask people to contribute just because you are so right-on!
5. Finally, please let us know your thoughts, ideas, questions, needs, etc. In addition to this blog, there is the Team Vegan Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=48622168203

Or just write to me or Anne!

We’re doing our best to have Team Vegan work as efficiently – and inexpensively – as possible. This gets more booklets to more people, but things may be unclear or incomplete at times. So please let us know how we can help you help animals!

For the animals,
Matt Ball
Executive Director, Vegan Outreach

Welcome! May 5, 2010

2010-05-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hi Team Vegan!

Thanks to all of you who've completed your profile! It’s exciting that so many dedicated people have signed up!!

Since there are so many of us now, I'm going to repeat myself for some of you; but please do read the entire post so that we're all on the same page.

The Team Vegan fundraiser ‘runs’ until 31 July. We have donors in Canada who will match everything raised in that time period – up to 75K. So we'll keep a running total on the Team Vegan site towards the goal of 75K. Once we reach the goal (or we hit July 31), the Canadian donors will send VO the matching money.

As an incentive to get people to join the team, another donor will put 100$ in everyone’s ‘pot’, provided they have a completed ‘profile’ by 7 May. This is money that Vegan Outreach will get right away; thousands of dollars which put to work for the animals. (This money will be matched, too, in the end, by the donors above.) This 100$ will show up on you goal bar on your page on 8 May. (I have to enter all donations separately. I want to do this all at once, hopefully for even more than the current 80 team members!)

When you fill out / finish your profile, please ignore the 1000$ required minimum. We're in the process of fixing that little glitch – but in the meantime, please ignore. There really is no minimum.

Whatever you raise for VO will be matched in the end, and we’ll be thrilled.

Ask family and friends to sponsor you for a race, a walk-a-thon, cat-sitting, leafleting adventure, birthday, Mother’s Day, or just because you're so right on! Walk dogs, pick up trash, cut hair and have people donate what they would have paid you to Vegan Outreach on your behalf. Whatever you feel comfortable with!

And be sure to come by the Team Vegan Facebook page. Post a comment, introduce yourself, offer advice, etc. (Most of the photos are from previous years. Don’t worry when you see so many people running!)

We’re thrilled you have chosen to be a part of this important work! Please let me know if you have questions.

Peace,
Anne

Kickoff!

2010-05-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

It is May 1, which means that Team Vegan is now officially underway!

Check out the team, with 69 members as of this typing (that's exactly as many as were in my high school graduating class)!

Kellie is leading the way, with $930 raised for the animals already -- well done, Kellie!

You still have a chance to be a part the team. If you complete your profile by May 7, a generous donor will contribute $100 to your fundraising efforts, and that $100 will be matched by John and Fany!

So please come by and set up your profile!

Already a member of the team? Start asking friends and family for fully tax-deductible contributions -- just send them to your profile page! GiveDirect (the site that processes donations with no fees withheld) was down earlier today, but it is up now.

Are you a donor who wants your money to go twice as far for the animals? Come by and make a donation to one of the team members, or donate to the general fund -- your contribution will be matched, dollar-for-dollar!

Thanks so much for being a part of this work!

Lots of Great Stuff!

2010-04-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who signed up for Team Vegan lately!

You can put hundreds of dollars to work for the animals by signing up for Team Vegan, or getting someone new to sign up -- details here.

I know lots of folks have signed up to do things other than running, but here are a few links for the runners:

Matt at NoMeatAthlete has set up a new site: Running on Plants. You can also read his VO story.

Coach Jay Johnson has a video up that he did for Running Times about a new way to start warming up. Here's an article on pre-race warmups.

And, as always, please contact us with feedback, suggestions, or other ideas to make this more useful for everyone. And thanks for your commitment to making a better world for all!

Above: Ellen, 15-year-old lifelong vegan, runs a 6:00 1600 earlier this month.

The Structure of Team Vegan Training, 2010

2010-04-20T15:12:00.000-07:00

For those who are looking to run as their Team Vegan goal, we're hoping to do things a little differently this year. Rather than just saying, "Run X miles today," we're hoping to develop a better sense of what different workouts are intended to accomplish, so we all have a better sense of "ownership" of our training. Also, so we don't feel that missing some workouts is a big deal -- if we know what we're striving to accomplish, we know what we can do to keep on track with a different schedule.

As you can see in the posts below, there are lots of training plans out there (here is another one -- a 16-week marathon plan from Runner's World). Feel free to peruse the various links -- that's why we're putting them here! But don't feel that you have to follow any particular plan to the tee -- the goal is to have fun, get fit, and help the animals!

And please stop by the official Team Vegan site, and register to set up your profile. Thanks so much!

Team Vegan 2010 Official Announcement

2010-04-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

We’re getting ready for Team Vegan 2010, which officially kicks off May 1.

This year will be much different, with more opportunities for anyone, anywhere to get involved!

That means you!

Don’t want to run? You can train for a walk-a-thon, or set a biking goal, or swim to get in shape. You can plan a leaflet-a-thon, walk dogs, cat-sit, etc.

If you do want to train and race, we will be developing various training programs for various levels and distances, and we can help you find (or plan) a race in your area.

The official Team Vegan website is now live! And, as you can see, we've also set up the Team Vegan blog, where we are already posting training tips, schedules, and links of general interest (see below) – please join up and post your questions and insights. The Team Vegan Facebook page is also back, allowing people across the country to interact.

Again this year, our incredible members, John and Fany will double the money you raise, dollar-for-dollar!

This is a great opportunity for everyone to get involved with Vegan Outreach, work together towards a goal, and help the animals! Be sure to be a part of the Team Vegan blog and Facebook page for more updates, and feel free to contact us with questions or comments – thanks!

Running Times Article on the 5k

2010-04-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

Good stuff here -- applicable to training in general.

A Fresh Start

2010-04-07T11:27:00.001-07:00

RW article for new or returning runners.

Good Training Plan (Half-Marathon Edition)

2010-04-06T15:48:00.000-07:00

This plan, at Runners World, covers a good approach -- the three quality workouts / week view of training.

Other training options for SF people

2010-04-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

Here are two other options, in case anyone in the Bay Area (or planning to go to the Bay Area) would want to be a part of one of these.

Some Links

2010-03-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

So I don't forget:

Training for 5k, 10k, and half-marathon.

Vegan ultra marathoner, Scott Jurek. (long)

Registering the Blog

2010-03-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

TeamVegan.blogspot.com is taken, but has been removed. ???

Watch this space for the community of dedicated vegans!