Every day we have many opportunities to help animals. Of course the biggest and best way to help animals is to become a vegan.
Vegans
save lives at least 3 times a day! (For help going vegan, check out these links.) But what about people who want to do
a little more?
Here is a list of little ways to make a big difference!
Always remember that if you are doing something - anything - the animals are
better off than if you would have done nothing. No action is too small.
I
am only one, but still I am one.
I
cannot do everything, but still I can do something.
And
because I cannot do everything, I
will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
Edward Everett Hale
If you think you are too small or insignificant to have an effect, you obviously have never gotten into bed with a mosquito.
Ingrid Newkirk
Become a PR person for the animals. Wear animal rights/vegetarian T-shirts, or put animal-friendly bumper stickers on your car. By becoming a walking (or driving) billboard for the animals you have the opportunity to educate thousands of people. Get them thinking! It is also a great way to identify yourself to like-minded folks. Get your own AZVegan bumper sticker! 8.5" by 1.5" vinyl stickers - smaller than normal bumper stickers. Click here for a preview. If you would like one, just email your address to azvegan@hotmail.com and I'll send you one for free! Spread the word...expand the network...widen the circle!
Get a
“pet-friendly” license plate. It shows others how much
you love animals – and it pays for spay and neuter
services statewide to help end pet overpopulation. This gorgeous, four-color
specialty license plate features original work by renowned artist RON BURNS
and a tag line that reads, “Pets Enrich Our Lives.” Best of all,
this specialty plate is just $25 – and $17 from the sale of each
pet-friendly license plate is deposited into a fund that pays for spay and
neuter services for dogs and cats across Arizona! Order your
pet-friendly plate today. The easiest way to get your plate is to visit www.servicearizona.com,
(click on personalized /specialized plates) or call the ADOT Motor Vehicles
Division office nearest you at:
Phoenix area - (602) 255-0072
Tucson area – (520) 629-9808
Elsewhere in AZ – (800) 251-5866
Farm Sanctuary Screen Savers. Help educate friends, family, and co-workers by installing a Farm Sanctuary screen saver on your computer. They currently offer two options: photos of happy animals at Farm Sanctuary with the message that animals are our friends not our food and photos of animals in factory farms with words urging that we stop factory farming. When you are away from your computer, passers by will be given food for thought. Click here to download happy animals screensaver. Or, click here to download factory farming screensaver.
Donate a subscription to a vegetarian publication to your local library or doctor's office. Or, donate veg books or videos to your library. (Be sure to talk to someone at the library to make sure they will be added to the permanent collection.)
Download and print the display fliers for Why Vegan and Even If You Like Meat from Vegan Outreach! 8.5" x 11" flyers with tear-off tabs, perfect for hanging around your college campus.
Give your money a voice! Several organizations offer personalized checks and credit cards. These not only speak out for the animals but a donation is made every time you use the credit card, so you are helping two ways with each purchase!. (Farm Sanctuary, PETA, Vegan Outreach) Every time someone sees your checks & credit cards it is another opportunity to get people thinking.
Check out www.messageproducts.com for checks and return address labels that benefit and advertise for a number of animal rights organizations.
Internet Purchases, Long Distance, etc. Vegan Outreach has several affiliates that make it easy to donate.
Surf for the animals! The ECO ISP (internet service provider) donates a full 50% of your monthly $15.95 charge to charity - refer them to Farm Sanctuary or your favorite group.
Distribute
animal rights literature. Carry literature with you at all times. You never know when someone is
going to ask "Why do you eat like that?" Vegan
Outreach and PETA
both have great sites full of downloadable literature!
Click here to read Compassion Over Killing's
excellent "Tips For Successful Vegan Leafleting".
Distribute copies of the audio cd, "Veganism in a Nutshell" and the video cd, "Meet Your Meat" from PETA. AZVegan.com will make a copy of either or both of these cds and mail them to you free of charge. Just send your name and address to azvegan@hotmail.com.
Recycle the literature you receive! Many of us are on several animal-friendly mailing lists. If you already know about the suffering in the materials sent to you, pass them on to someone who might not. Enclose them in with your bills every month. Send them back to non-animal-related companies that enclose self-addressed stamped envelopes with their junk mail.
Write
lots of letters on your own! Join Kinship
Circle's FREE letter-writing service. Sample letters posted to email
subscribers every week—to personalize or send as written. To subscribe,
email: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Professionally written letter campaigns for you to send to legislators,
businesses, the media. Print-to-go, or copy to personalize before sending.
Check PETA's Action
Alerts page for current issues.
Letters to the editor are a great way to have your voice heard! Click
here for more info on sending a letter to the Arizona Republic.
Email is a great way to take action for the animals. But before you fire off your next angry letter, check out DawnWatch's page on e-mail etiquette. It has some great reminders on how to get your point across without alienating the recipient. Then, check out their e-mail action page to put some of those helpful hints to work!
Amazing website for activists: Find and contact national and local media quickly and easily. Check out http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/ and get those letters flowing!
JUST A REMINDER:
Government officials, heads of corporations, and legislators are most interested in hearing from average citizens, not obvious activists. So instead of lifting language directly from form letters, please always instead try composing a few, heartfelt sentences of your own.
Start your own seasonal letter-writing campaigns. For Christmas, send letters to companies that test on animals asking them to "Celebrate the season with compassion!" or for Mother's Day, send No Veal literature to restaurants. Get creative! Tie this in with a letters to the editors at the same time.
Help Farm Sanctuary raise needed funds for rescued farm animals by sponsoring a collection box. The collection boxes are a simple and easy way to raise much needed funding and educate thousands of people about the need to rescue and protect farm animals. To sponsor a collection box, please send $20 per box (to cover the cost of the box) to Farm Sanctuary, PO Box 150, Watkins Glen, NY 14891 and mark “Collection Box” on your check or money order. The box should then be displayed in an establishment with a good flow of traffic. Health food stores and vegetarian restaurants are good locations. If you have any questions on the collection box program or would like more information on Farm Sanctuary, please email activist@farmsanctuary.org
For more ideas, check out PETA's New Year's Resolutions - and be an effective animal advocate all year long!
PETA also has a wonderful site dedicated to "Great Ways to Promote Vegetarianism". Check it out!
Visit IDA's Online Resource Center - your resource for animal rights materials and information. Whether you want to start your own animal rights group, document animal abuse at laboratories, distribute informational brochures to the public, or embark on a cruelty-free lifestyle, we hope you will find what you need to get started here. Be sure to check out the great media info under "How to Make the News".
Check out the list of links under Activist Resources and Teen Activism for more ideas and info.