Volunteers

VOLUNTEER HUB

Kaya Gromocki Supporter Services Coordinator (Volunteering, Engagement and Outreach)

At the beginning of the year I was pleased to see our team of office volunteers expand. However, due to Covid-19, this collaboration is currently suspended. We are grateful to all of our office volunteers, and I hope to see our current volunteers again in calmer times in the near future. In this issue of the magazine, we shine a light on our Community Network. We are making every effort to move the work of the Community Network online and exploring ways to continue to campaign effectively during the pandemic. As staff we are using this time to plan future actions for the network so that it remains strong and active. We hope that the network continues to grow during this time.

The Community Network

The Community Network is a group of people who volunteer across the UK to promote the work of The Vegan Society and our campaigns. Volunteers spread the word about our work in their own communities, and this helps us to reach people who we wouldn’t otherwise have contact with.

The network is made up of two types of volunteers: Community Organisers and Community Advocates. Community Organisers are the points of contact for their local group of Advocates, and it is their responsibility to keep in touch with Vegan Society staff through email or phone calls.

We send regular tasks to the Organisers, who then communicate these to their Advocates and support them in undertaking the tasks. The type of action network volunteers might undertake ranges from contacting their MP about a Vegan Society campaign such as Play Fair with Plant Milk, to giving a short presentation on the climate crisis and veganism to people in their area.

Meet the Organisers

Ronnie Lee I’ve been campaigning for animal protection for almost 50 years, with my emphasis now being very much on vegan education. I am a coordinator of my very active local vegan group, Wyre Forest Vegans, which covers Kidderminster and nearby towns and villages in North Worcestershire. As a Community Organiser, I would like to help and encourage many more local vegans to become involved in outreach.

John Awen I’ve gone from raising animals for slaughter to becoming an animal activist and joint owner of Beneath the Wood Animal Sanctuary. In my role as Community Organiser, I would like to grow the number of vegans in my community and instill within others heartfelt compassion and empathy towards all other beings.

Carol Lee I live on the Isle of Arran, off the west coast of Scotland. My husband Jules and I run the Arran Vegan Group and a vegan B&B. Together we organised the first Arran VegFest in March 2020. I am passionate about making information and facts about the many benefits of living a vegan lifestyle available to all.

Louise Cormack For me, being a Community Organiser is a positive step to bringing people together and making new friends. I became involved in The Vegan Society as I wanted to ensure I am able to help people transition by showing them how easy it is to be vegan, and to host events knowing I have the support of an established vegan organisation. Chris Mclaren As a Community Organiser, I’d like to work with other vegans locally to promote and improve the general public’s awareness of veganism. There are three areas we can use to encourage people to change: the environment, health and animal rights. Personally, I believe the philosophical and practical stance taken by vegans encompasses so much more than the above, and tends to include other ecological practices as well as compassion, kindness and a better way of living on our shared planet. This therefore needs to be promoted, especially when considering the current climate crisis.

Evie Sier I went vegan 22 years ago after a friend gave me a copy of The Vegan, and I joined The Vegan Society soon afterwards. More recently my husband and I have been doing vegan outreach stalls at local events and in the town centre. We have a diverse vegan community in Eastbourne, with people taking part in different types of activism. Whenever we have a stall, there is always someone available to help. I usually write to a vegan food producer requesting food samples to have on the stall for people to try.

Hopefully the local Community Network will grow in this area, so we have more people available to campaign with us.

Join the Community Network

We all share a common aim – that gives the Community Network the potential to bring about real change. To make that change as impactful as possible, we need the number of our enthusiastic and passionate Organisers and Advocates to increase. If you think you have what it takes to be an Organiser or an Advocate, please read the role descriptions on our website and apply. If you have any questions, please email volunteer@vegansociety.com or call 0121 523 1730.

VOLUNTEER OF THE SEASON

Introducing Hayley Kinnear, a volunteer in our Digital Communications Team

Tell me about why you decided to volunteer for The Vegan Society

Having fairly recently become vegan, I began thinking that I would like to do more to help non-human animals. I thought a good place to start would be to volunteer with The Vegan Society to help others consider a change in lifestyle (although I had hoped there would also be an office dog!)

You already had a specific skill set, which made you perfect for this role. Can you tell me a bit more about that?

I was first introduced to programming through a book on Python computer programming during a period of sick leave from my last job. While going through this, I realised I had an aptitude for learning programming, and really enjoyed the logical nature of it. This experience catapulted me towards a career in technology, and since then I have been learning web development in my own time.

What new skills have you learned since volunteering?

Having specific projects to work on with experienced guidance from Vegan Society staff has really helped me to develop my problem-solving skills. More generally, I have learnt about the world of HTML emails and all their interesting quirks, using content management systems and Google Analytics.

What motivates you to volunteer every week?

It has been a wonderful mix of volunteering for a great organisation that I really believe in and also getting to develop my skills in an area I would like to eventually get a full-time role in. The support and guidance I’ve received has made it a great place to volunteer, and it’s a wonderful feeling to be on the same page as the people you’re working with, rather than having to justify your lifestyle choices every day.

Can you tell me about the app you are developing?

Having worked with young people and in the field of mental health for several years, I decided I would like to create a resource for young people to learn the basics of mental health.

From my experience, we are not teaching young people how to understand their own emotions and manage them appropriately. Because of this, I decided I wanted to create an app to fill this gap. I have a fl eshed-out idea and I have been invited to do a pitch of the project to a programming training cohort to have a prototype created.

The idea is to have a series of guided interactive activities on a variety of topics such as sleep, diet, mood and relationships. It will also give users the opportunity to apply what they have learnt to their day-to-day life through reviews and monitoring tasks such as a mood diary.

What would you tell others who were thinking of volunteering for The Vegan Society?

That there is a really friendly and welcoming environment, you’ll learn a lot and probably get the odd free tasters of new products! But above all, if you are also vegan, it’s just nice to be around so many people who also care so passionately about other animals.

Since completing this interview, Hayley has been appointed as Web Officer in the Communications Team. This means she is no longer a volunteer and that we will be working alongside her every day instead. Congratulations Hayley!