Greetings!
As we welcome in the New Year, we want to express our sincere gratitude to you for supporting the mission and vision of the Society of People for the Earth, Animals, Compassion & Enlightenment. We've had another spectacular year -- thanks to you, our wonderful members & supporters!
In 2008, we continued to expand our outreach & advocacy efforts and, as you'll see from below, our members have made a significant difference for the animals! Some of the highlights & accomplishments from 2008 include:
- Hosted vegan events and distributed outreach materials in the Houston area for MEATOUT Week, Earth Day, World Farm Animals Day, Vegetarian Awareness Month and the World Go Vegan Days annual campaigns. Also hosted vegan events for several holidays including our "Celebrate Freedom, Go Vegan" Picnic and our "Gentle Thanksgiving" Dinner.
- Coordinated the 3rd Annual "Texas Veggin'-out Days" outreach campaign with the Lone Star Vegetarian Network and other vegetarian & animal rights organizations in Texas.
- Volunteers tabled at local community festivals and venues, including a Society of PEACE MEATOUT Week veg outreach table in front of Houston City Hall.
- Volunteers designed and painted the first Society of PEACE 'Go Vegan' Art Car, which debuted in front of over 200,000 spectators in Houston.
- Members participated in rallies to oppose: the use of animals for entertainment (Houston rodeo & the circus), animals used & killed in cosmetic testing and medical research, and animals skinned for their fur coats. Our members organized a demonstration at Memorial Park during World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week, which was visible to hundreds of pedestrians and automobiles.
- Volunteers partnered with Food Not Bombs to help feed vegan meals to Houston's hungry as part of our community service.
- Members met with the local media and were featured in radio interviews on 3 Univision Spanish radio networks, as well as KTRH News Radio and KPFT Houston. Several members produced and guest-hosted episodes of Vegan World Radio and Open Journal on KPFT. Members were also quoted in local news publications and had letters to the editor published in local newspapers and national newspapers.
- Members launched new vegan blogs, cooking blogs, enlightenment blogs and veggie restaurant blogs this year. One member also received a "2008 VegNews Magazine Bloggy Award".
- Members taught vegan & vegetarian cooking classes and personal chef classes throughout Houston. One member also started a vegan dessert catering business.
- The Vegetarian Society of the Bay Area was created this year with the help of one of our members.
- The Texas Humane Legislation Network elected one of our members to lead the new THLN Houston Legislative Chapter.
- Created a resource page for the rescue efforts & animal victims of Hurricane Ike.
- Hosted our first Film Night & Vegan Bake Sale at a theater filled to capacity in Houston.
- The World Farm Animals Day 2008 Report recognized a Society of PEACE founding member as a "Hero of FARM and the Animal Rights Movement".
- Received the "Judges Award for 2nd Place" in the 2008 Lone Star Vegetarian Network Chili Cook-off Festival.
- Presented Dr. Will Tuttle, author of The World Peace Diet, as our featured speaker for both our annual holiday vegan event and an educational workshop. Also hosted workshops in Houston for Vegan Outreach and In Defense of Animal & The ASPCA.
We want to thank YOU for making all of this possible and for being an important part of our growing Society of PEACE community. We appreciate your support and look forward to another outstanding year ahead!
May the New Year also inspire others to join us in creating a more peaceful & compassionate world for ALL living beings!
Sincerely,
Kristen Lee Ohanyan, President & co-founder
Tosh Schurz, Vice President & co-founder
Mari Devlin, Assistant Vice President
Amanda Mariano, Treasurer
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The New Year is a great time to make the switch to healthy, compassionate & environmentally friendly diet. If you, or someone you know, are interested in learning more about the benefits of a plant-based diet, please click on the links below to view any of the Vegetarian Starter guides online.
Many of the guides have recipes, nutritional information, transition tips and other resources to help you get started. And remember, the Society of PEACE community will be here to support you along the way!
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Society of PEACE recommends the following Vegetarian publications:
*Many of these organizations also have the starter guides available in Spanish. |
