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Thank You For Volunteering
The Twin Cities leads the nation in volunteering, according to a new survey by the federal government as reported by the Star Tribune.
The study by the Corporation for National and Community Service found that 37.1 percent of Twin Cities residents volunteered in 2010. This is higher than any other metropolitan area.
Thanks to all the volunteers at Compassionate Action for Animals for volunteering! It's your hard work that makes everything we do possible. From potlucks and dineouts to Veg Week and leafleting and much more! Your help in planning events, making food, calling your friends, or greeting people at the door makes a difference.
With your generous contribution of time, energy, and talent, we are able to advocate for animals and reduce their suffering and death. We care about the mistreatment of animals, and we know that our greatest tool in changing the way they are treated is our own voice.
New Plant-Based Nutrition Resource
Michael Greger, M.D., has a new website, nutritionfacts.org scours the world of nutrition research to give you information that is easy to understand.
Posting a video every day, NutritionFacts.org is the newest resource for vegan nutrition. The site is created by the Jesse and Julie Rasch Foundation in partnership with Dr. Michael Greger. Dr. Greger has spoken for Compassionate Action for Animals before, and we know him to be a knowledgeable source about nutrition.
As stated on their website,
NUTRITIONFACTS.ORG is brought to you by the Jesse & Julie Rasch Foundation in partnership with Michael Greger, M.D. Dr. Greger scours the world of nutrition-related research, as published in scientific journals, and brings that information to you in short, easy to understand video segments.
Announcing our new Executive Director
The Compassionate Action for Animals' Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Unny Nambudiripad will be CAA's new Executive Director! Unny will work for CAA full time and begin in this role as of Monday, August 22. Danielle Smith, our current Director of Volunteer Programs, will be leaving as of Friday, August 5.
Danielle says of her departure, "I have absolutely loved my time with CAA and will cherish the connections and memories I have made. I owe CAA so much. Not only has the organization supported me in professional ways, I have also grown stronger as an animal activist."
She continues, "I hope to stay connected to the organization and look forward to the possibility of serving on the board of directors in the near future. I am also happy to know that Unny, who will be taking over volunteer coordination, is someone you are all familiar with. I believe that many great things are in store for CAA in the years to come."
Unny says, "I'm excited at the opportunity to take CAA to the next level. I've had a lot of fun working with dynamic leaders, hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers, and businesses, donors, and partner organizations to raise awareness about the plight of animals. Sometimes it is challenging to find the motivation and energy to be an effective advocate, but I'm confident that with your help we can make big changes for the animals we are here to protect."
Unny is a co-founder of Compassionate Action for Animals and has over 15 years of nonprofit experience. He has conducted investigations on factory farms, passed out leaflets, has written for local publications on animal issues, and planned social events. Additionally, Unny has led our fundraising efforts for the last five years, managed volunteers, served on the board of directors of several organizations, and coordinated strategic planning and budgeting. Because of his combination of experience and commitment to CAA's mission, we are excited to promote him into this position.
Please welcome Unny in his new role by:
- Volunteering – Fill out a volunteer form and get involved.
- Donating – You can donate online now.
- By attending CAA events, meeting new people, and learning more about the issues.
The Board would like to thank Danielle for her work over this past year. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors. We are excited to have Unny joining us full time and we look forward to what CAA will accomplish in the future.
State Fair Vegan Cooking Competition
In the land of cheese curds, brats and Tater Tot hotdish, there is a new sheriff in town. The Minnesota State Fair is including in its annual cooking competition a Vegan Main Dish category. So put down those deep fried Twinkies on a stick and run over and get a glimpse at history in the making. Or better yet, enter a dish to win!
Florence Brammer helped campaign for the category to be added to the competition this year. For the several hundred thousand fair-goers, Brammer is hoping that this will raise awareness to the concept of vegan entrées and to the plight of factory farm raised animals. She is personally offering a prize to the winner- a copy of "The Vegan Table" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.
The deadline for online registration is 4:30pm, August 9th. Registration is free! Go to state fair website to register. No late entries will be accepted, so skip, prance, or sashay your way down to the (virtual) registration booth.
When entering keep in mind that salads are not accepted since the goal is to provide a complete protein, just as non-vegan dishes do. The dishes will be judged based on four categories: Appearance, Ease of Preparation, Taste and Texture, with Taste being the most heavily weighted category and Ease of Preparation second.
Recipes should include 12 ingredients or fewer. This does not include cooking oil, garnish, salt, pepper and water.
Entries must be delivered to the fairgrounds on Sunday, August 21, in a disposable container.
To enter you must be 14 years or older, and a Minnesota resident. Professional chefs are not allowed. For complete rules download this PDF, then look for category #1111.
Please take this awesome opportunity to bring delicious vegan food to state fair-goers, as well as showing the fair administrators that there is a strong vegan community that will stand behind this new category!
Getting Veg Options
Simple steps for requesting veg options at conferences and workshops
While finding veg food at events that aren't animal or diet conscious can take extra effort, we've found that a little bit of planning can make everything go smoothly. Unny Nambudiripad was attending a conference this spring, and wasn't sure what the food options would be. Two weeks before the conference, he sent this email to the coordinator of the conference:
"Hello,
I'm looking forward to the conference. I'm a vegan (I don't eat meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or other animal products) and I was wondering if you can accommodate my diet. If not, that's fine, I can bring my own lunch. Please let me know if you have questions. I had also indicated my dietary predilection on my registration.
Thanks!"
Notice that the email keeps a very positive voice and doesn't demand that they provide vegan food, and he even offers to bring his own food if needed. Bringing your own food where there is no veg option can show others that while you are not demanding or hard to deal with you still stand up for your own beliefs as to what you eat.
The conference coordinator sent Unny's request to the caterer, who replied in an extremely positive way by giving several options for a vegan meal including salad, soups and a sandwich, even a vegan dessert. The caterer went so far as to ask Unny what he would like on his sandwich. He replied and gave many options for vegan sandwich fillings and also made clear that he was a flexible, non-picky, vegan eater and made sure to thank her for the accommodations.
CAA Cooking Classes
CAA volunteer Bita writes about why our cooking classes are so great!
Spring Leafleting Week Results!
CAA's first spring leafleting week ended last Friday. In just four days, leafleting two hours a day, we handed out over 2300 leaflets! As promised, the individual who handed out the most leaflets would receive a year's worth of Newman O's. The winner for last week is Dylan Mulenburg. Dylan handed out an astonishing 1900 leaflets.
Think you can trump that? Well, there are plenty of CAA leafleting opportunities ahead, such as Music for Mother Earth
Seventh Annual Banquet a Success
On April 7, Compassionate Action for Animals celebrated another year of advocating for animals at our 7th Annual Banquet. The fundraiser raised support for our outreach, education, and community building on behalf of farmed animals.
Over sixty five guests attended this year’s event, which included a silent auction and reception, a gourmet four-course vegan meal, and a presentation about CAA’s work.
The fantastic all-vegan, four-course meal prepared once again by Ciree Linsenman included Granny Tomatillo & White Balsamic Napoleon Skewers Sculpture, a choice of Hot Pink Beet Borscht with Fresh Dill or Tomato Saffron Burgundy Bisque for soup, and a choice of Sweet and Sour Meetballs with Garlic Almond Green Beans or Southern Greens and Leeks Quiche with Cranberry Lemon Sauce for the entree.
Following the meal, Shannon Kimball talked about CAA’s Bridges of Respect program, as well as CAA’s food giveaways and other outreach work. Sofia Huerter spoke about her passion for volunteering with the organization.
We’d like to thank those businesses and individuals who donated to the event:
- Ariel Abell
- At Sara’s Table
- Betsy Born
- Boneshaker Books
- Paul Busch
- Laurel Clift
- Marly Cornell
- Evergreen Chinese Restaurant
- Ali Glad
- jobangles (Josie Hamlen)
- Rachel Keranen
- Shannon Kimball
- Laurel Street Flowers
- Justin Leaf
- Cali Mastny
- New French Bakery
- Savithry Nambudiripad
- Pangea Vegan Store
- Jared Rolsky
- Joan Rolsky
- Joel Schneider
- Seward Co-op
- Suzy Sorensen
- Chelsea Strate
- Mike Tavernier
- John Thompson
- Triple Rock Social Club
- Vegan Essentials
- Wedge Community Co-op
- Whole Foods Saint Paul
And last, but certainly not least, dozens of dedicated volunteers helped the event to progress smoothly by preparing food, setting up, serving guests, taking pictures, and cleaning. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this year’s banquet a huge success!
If you weren’t able to attend but would still like to support CAA, you can donate online.
Volunteer at CAA’s Seventh Annual Banquet
In order to make this banquet a success, we need your help! Please see below for available volunteer positions.
This is our largest fundraising event of the year, and we need plenty of volunteers. Below are the listed volunteer positions we need filled. Please read through and determine which position(s) you would like to and are able to help with.
Setup
3:00 – 5:00 5 people
Setup volunteers will assist the Auction Coordinator to set up the silent auction area, set the banquet tables, and help decorate the banquet space.
Registration Table
5:00 – 7:0 1 person
We need one volunteer to assist the Registration Leader with checking in volunteers and direct them to appropriate stations as well as registering attendees. Must dress semi-formally.
Food Preparation & Receiption Food/Drink Staff
5:00 – 7:00 5 people
These volunteers will work with Food Prep Leader to prepare food trays for the reception and make sure that food and beverages are ready and available for Reception Servers during the course of the reception. They will also do some food prep for the banquet itself. Some of these volunteers will need to dress semi-formally.
Banquet Servers
5:00 – 9:30 18 people
The servers will serve food and drink to guests. Must wear a white or black shirt with a collar and black pants or skirt.
Kitchen Clean-Up
7:30 – 11:00 6 people
These volunteers will work with the Kitchen Clean-up Leader to clean dishes from the reception and main banquet and make sure that clean dishes are organized packed for return to the CAA office.
Room Clean-Up
9:30 – 11:00 4 people
These volunteers will work with the Room Clean-up Leader to ensure that banquet tables and rooms are clean and decorations and supplies are organized and packed in cars for return to CAA office. May assist with kitchen clean-up as well.
Please Volunteer!
Food will be provided for volunteers, and there may also be leftovers, so all volunteers staying until 9 pm can bring a container for food if you would like to take some home. Please respond indicating what position(s) you can help out with. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions. If you’d like to volunteer, contact Nina Shimmin at [email protected] or 763-807-4811.
Please invite your parents, co-workers, or friends to the banquet. We are looking for more donors and attendees. Please direct them to the main banquet page.
Thanks in advance for your help and we look forward to hearing back from you and seeing you at the banquet.
Mercy For Animals’ Meat Video
Narrated by Oscar-nominee James Cromwell, this powerful 12-minute film takes you on an eye-opening exploration behind the closed doors of the nation's largest industrial poultry, pig, dairy and fish farms, hatcheries, and slaughter plants – revealing the often-unseen journey that animals make from Farm to Fridge.
Using arresting images covertly recorded on hidden camera, this provocative film puts into focus the harsh reality faced by farmed animals – creatures granted no federal protection from abuse during their lives on factory farms.
Challenging society's views and treatment of "food animals," Farm to Fridge elevates our moral and ethical discussion about where our food comes from, how it is produced, and who is left to pay the ultimate price for cheap meat, dairy and eggs.
This film is guaranteed to change the way you look at the power, and consequences, of your food choices.
You can watch this life-changing film for free online at MeatVideo. After viewing Farm to Fridge, we encourage you to share it with your friends on Facebook, order a free copy to screen in your community, and request a free Vegetarian Starter Kit.
We hope you find MFA's new film informative, motivational, and moving. Together we can protect farmed animals from abuse, and inspire others to explore cruelty-free food choices.
*Please note that this film contains graphic and violent images*