Give to the Max for ARC!

“My favorite piece of what the Animal Rights Coalition does is the outreach! Sharing veganism with the community through events, educating on the HUGE positive impact, and making it accessible! Being welcomed into veganism and having support has meant the world to me and my family!” – Sarabeth Kelly

These are words from one of the many ARC members who chose to Give to the Max for ARC this year. ARC uses outreach to educate the public about animal rights in many different forms including leafleting, tabling, pay-per-view virtual reality, TV outreach, peaceful protests, educational workshops, cooking classes, grocery shopping tours, school presentations, volunteer meetings, training sessions, movie screenings, plant-based pop-ups, community potlucks and running a vegan boutique. We are grateful Sarabeth has been a longtime supporter of ARC and we’re thrilled she feels the same way about us! See what other members are saying about why they chose to Give to the Max for ARC.

Scan the QR code (shown above) or check out our fundraising page.

Thank you for your continued support!

ARC’s 27th Annual Turkey-Free Friendsgiving Potluck

You’re invited to ARC’s 27th Annual Turkey-Free Friendsgiving Potluck! Join us on Sunday, November 13th, from 4:00-6:00 pm at Living Spirit United Methodist Church to eat delicious vegan food and reunite with new and familiar faces. All are welcome! You do not need to be vegan or vegetarian to attend. Bring a vegan main dish, side dish, or dessert to share and ARC will provide beverages, along with a variety of vegan holiday roasts and cheeses to sample. A huge thanks to The Herbivorous Butcher for their support and donation of delicious vegan cheeses and holiday roast!

If you’re interested in volunteering at the Friendsgiving event, ARC needs help setting up beforehand, staffing the plant-based cheese table, greeting people as they enter, taking photos, helping the dishwasher and cleaning up at the end. Sign up to volunteer here!

Discussing Animal Rights with College Students

Fall Semester has started and ARC is eager to get back into schools to talk to students about the benefits of switching to a plant-based diet and respecting all animals through veganism. For pay-per-view events, we bring virtual reality headsets that show three different videos of standard farming practices in the eyes of a chicken, a pig, or a cow exploited for her milk. Students are given $1 to watch one of the videos and talk with an ARC representative about what they saw. Volunteers are needed to help distribute literature, set up VR headsets, and talk to students about animal rights and veganism.

See ARC’s upcoming pay-per-view events below. If you’re interested in volunteering, click the sign up link in each event description, or email the Outreach Manager at Kelsey@animalrightscoalition.com.

Pay-Per-View at Anoka Ramsey: Tuesday, October 25th, 9:00-2:00 pm

Pay-Per-View at AugsburgMonday, November 7th, 9:00-3:00 pm

Pay-Per-View at CenturyTuesday, November 29th, 10:00-4:00 pm

Pay-Per-View at AugsburgMonday, December 5th, 9:00-3:00 pm

Animal Exploitation at the MN State Fair

ARC activists were handing out literature, vegan cheese samples, creating chalk messages, doing TV Outreach, and holding banners and signs at and near the Minnesota State Fair this year as part of our campaign to educate the public about the hidden world of animal suffering at state and county fairs. We focused on how cow’s milk hurts our health, the planet, and the animals, and how cows at the fair suffer tremendously. We’ve already reached thousands, but just because the fair is over doesn’t mean our campaign is. This is a long-term endeavor, and there’s plenty of behind the scenes work to do between now and next August. Please email amyleinen@animalrightscoalition.com to get involved and make your voice count for the cows!

View ARC in action at the State Fair during our sidewalk chalk eventTV outreachfood sampling and banner display. You can also watch us live during TV outreach at the fair on Thursday, August 25th.

Protest Animal Rides at MN Renaissance Festival

The Renaissance Festival is offering elephant, camel, pony, and llama rides yet again this year. While many people jump at the opportunity to get close to animals by buying exotic animal rides at fairs and fests, they probably wouldn’t if they knew about the suffering the animals endure being treated as amusement park attractions.

These animals are trucked around the country to different venues in small trailers and chained for hours each day. If they were allowed to live in the wild, they would have extensive social networks and travel miles upon miles every day. But when they’re sentenced to being “rides,” they’re forced to walk in circles day after day with hundreds of pounds on their backs for long hours, bored and uncomfortable.

There are huge public safety concerns, as well. These are wild animals who are forced to comply with their handlers’ demands by force, and sometimes they will reach a limit, resist their captors and revolt.

Elephants also carry the human strain of tuberculosis (TB) and can easily transmit it. Most companies fail to have valid TB tests performed on their elephants due to the cost and difficulty of administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledges that this disease is highly transferable from elephants to humans. Yet, despite their knowledge of the inherent cruelty and danger, the Minnesota Renaissance Festival continues to feature exotic animal rides.

Join our protest to help raise awareness about these unethical attractions at the Renaissance Festival and encourage people attending to skip the animal exploitation and instead enjoy the activities that don’t hurt animals. RSVP here:

Facebook:

MN Animal Rights Meetup

Photo taken by Brooke Reynolds (Captured by Brooke Photography)

Farmers Market Season is Here!

Vegan University is eager to return to local farmers markets this season and share the benefits of plant-based eating with the community. Farmers markets are the perfect venue to promote eating plant-based because people are there to buy plants! There’s no better place to talk to individuals about a plant-based diet than at a market where there’s already an understanding of the immense power of plants. It’s a great opportunity for people to ask questions, squash common myths and stereotypes, and give individuals the confidence they need to eliminate animal products from their diet. In addition to providing recipes and information, we encourage people to sign up for Vegan University’s free online workshops, cooking classes, and grocery shopping tours, and offer a free vegan mentor for those who are interested. We’re here to help people at each step in their journey toward a plant-based diet.

This season, Vegan University will be at the Linden Hills, Mill City, Bloomington, Minnetonka and Riverwalk markets. If you’re interested in volunteering at a market, email the Outreach Manager at Kelsey@animalrightscoalition.com. Join us in kicking off farmers market season in Northfield at Riverwalk Market on Saturday, May 21st, from 9:00-1:00 pm!

Bringing TV Outreach Back for the Season

With the weather getting warmer, ARC is eager to head to the streets with TV Outreach at local community events!

The screens highlight what happens to animals when they’re exploited for human use and allows us to engage in conversations with people about animal-free alternatives.

You will see ARC offering TV Outreach at the 2022 MayDay FestivalOpen Streets Franklin and Open Streets Minnehaha. RSVP on Facebook and join us to educate our community about the truth behind animal exploitation. This is a great opportunity for those who aren’t familiar with, or interested in, talking to the public. Volunteers are invited to hold signs or screens provided by ARC while ARC representatives help onlookers process the footage on display.

More TV Outreach events will be scheduled as opportunities arise. If you know of an event that would be a good fit for this form of activism, email the Outreach Manager at Kelsey@animalrightscoalition.com.

CALL TO ACTION: World Hunting Expo

The Safari Club International is returning to Brooklyn Park this Saturday, the 26th, for the Annual World Hunting Expo held at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest and we need your help in taking action. Here’s how you can do so:
1. Join ARC to protest the expo on Saturday, the 26th, from 10:00-12:00 pm outside the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest. RSVP here!
2. Tell the expo’s local MN sponsors, Rapid Graphics and the Grazzini Brothers & Company, to stop supporting the cruel and horrific practice of trophy hunting.

 

Grazzini Brothers & Company: 

Rapid Graphics:  

Create a post, tweet or add to your story to express your concerns to the sponsors (make sure to tag them!). Here is an example message:

“I was really upset to see Rapid Graphics and the Grazzini Brothers & Company as sponsors of the Safari Club International’s World Hunting Expo held at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest on Saturday, February 26th. The expo exhibits one of the largest taxidermy displays in the Midwest and includes a long list of exploitative vendors, gun raffles and live auctions offering extravagant hunting trips to places all over the world, such as South Africa and Mexico. The Safari Club International claims their role in conservation of certain animals while celebrating the murder of others. It’s a shame Rapid Graphics and the Grazzini Brothers & Company have chosen to sponsor this event that promotes the horrific practice of trophy hunting.”

You can read more information about the expo here: https://www.minnesotasci.com/events/expo/

*Please be polite, civil and diplomatic in your comments*

A Bittersweet Update

As we come to the close of another productive year for ARC, we have bittersweet news to share with our supporters: Our effervescent and intrepid Campaign Manager, Ashley Riddle, will be leaving her position as of December 24th. Ashley’s passion for animal rights activism has served ARC well over the last four years. From her tireless work on our Go Humane, Blaine puppy mill campaign to initiating and developing ARC’s newest campaign against animal abuse at the Minnesota State Fair to everything in between, Ashley has been commendably representing ARC at the forefront of the most pressing animal issues in Minnesota. We are very sad to say farewell to this fierce animal activist, but fear not! Ashley will still be doing online workshops and volunteering for ARC as often as possible.

Now the sweet: We have hired Amy Leinen as ARC’s new Campaign Manager! Many of you in the animal rights community already know Amy but for those who don’t, Amy has been an active volunteer with ARC for almost 10 years. She is currently an ARC vegan mentor and one of our dine-out leaders, and she volunteers regularly for Pay Per View and various ARC special events. Outside of ARC, Amy volunteers for several local sanctuaries, runs the Chicken Rescuers in Minnesota Facebook group, and runs a small chicken microsanctuary. Amy has leadership experience as the previous president of the Minnesota Homeschooler’s Alliance and the coordinator for their annual conference. Like Ashley, Amy is well known and well liked in our local community. We’re excited to have someone with such relevant experience and networking skills on board.

Au revoir, Ashley; we love you and miss you already! And welcome, Amy! Great to have you on the ARC team!

ARC Brings TVs to the Streets

On Sunday, October 24th, ARC set up with TVs in the middle of Open Streets Minnehaha to show the public what happens to animals exploited for their flesh, secretions and for their fur. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of positive interactions we experienced with attendees! Numerous people thanked us for standing up for animals or nodded their heads in agreement with the cause as they walked by. We had many positive conversations about switching to a plant-based diet, the wide variety of alternatives available in grocery stores today and the numerous vegan restaurants now open in the Twin Cities.

ARC plans to schedule a couple more TV demos before the weather gets too cold. If you are interested in volunteering, please email the Outreach Manager at Kelsey@animalrightscoalition.com.

Do you have questions? Call or visit us.

(612) 822-6161

Animal Rights Coalition
317 W. 48th St.
Minneapolis, MN 55419

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