I just spent another morning leafleting at my local university. I go out about once a month and “spread the word” of veganism by handing out colorful Vegan Outreach booklets free to college students. I am often joined by another leafleter who meets me and we split a busy college sidewalk “intersection” to make sure nearly all the students who pass by us have the opportunity to receive a booklet.
As usual, it was a great day for leafleting. Most students were friendly and many took a leaflet. I heard one girl tell her friend that after reading the pamphlet she wasn’t going to be able to eat chicken nuggets any more. Another guy took a leaflet and said he would try to go veg one day a week. Two people told me they were already vegan and another three said they were vegetarian. We ended up handing out 500 leaflets in just one hour. That’s potentially 5 new vegetarians or vegans. Each vegetarian or vegan will save hundreds or thousands of animals.
The only real obstacle is the weather and where I live the weather is nice most of the year. When it’s hot I dress lightly and stay in the shade; when it’s chillly I bundle up and wear gloves. Lucky for me, I don’t usually have to cancel for rain or snow. I hear some hard-core leafleters trudge through and leaflet even in harsh weather. But not me, I’m a fair-weather leafeter.
When I got back home I hopped online to check my email and update my facebook. As I scrolled through my emails I remembered that another friend had promised to help leaflet one day, but somehow something always got in the way. She had good intentions but her follow-through wasn’t ideal. It made me wonder what it was about leafleting that seemed so daunting to her. Why didn’t she come leaflet with me?
Have you’ve felt this way? What is it about leafleting that is so off-putting to so many animal advocates? Why, when I ask for volunteers for a protest do people show up in droves but when I ask for help leafleting I’m lucky to get one volunteer? I’m genuinely curious here… Please help me out!
