If you are a high school student, you should seriously consider starting or participating in a a vegan club at your high school. A vegan club at your school will be a powerful vehicle to learn and exercise leadership skills while doing activities that benefit the people and the environment, making a difference in the world. Most importantly, many of the club activities may also qualify for volunteering credits that will be immensely impressive on your college applications. World Vegan Vision will insure that you will receive the documentation to substantiate your volunteer work and extra curricular activities you perform in the vegan club.
What is a Vegan Club?
Imagine hanging out with your closest friends and helping your community at the same time – you’ll be able to do just that when you start or join a vegan club!
A vegan club is an extension of the local World Vegan Vision chapter. Therefore, aside from the opportunities for activism and leadership development, you will have the ability to choose veganism related activities that address your community’s needs while delivering the valuable services of World Vegan Vision. You will plan and implement projects that will touch hundreds of lives from vegan outreach and animal rights activism, event management and vegan diet education.
Steps to Start your Vegan Club
- Get Approval from Your School – This will be your first step to start a vegan club. Make sure you are allowed and the club will be recognized by the school and the school will provide the same resources made available to other clubs.
- Recruit a Few “Start-Up” People – Recruit 3-6 people to help you get the club up-and-running. Share this guide with your new recruits so you can work together to set up your club.
- Find a Sponsor/Advisor – Find an advisor. Your ideal candidate is likely to be a member of the faculty/staff at your school who has:
– A strong desire to make a difference in the world and is a practicing vegan or is interested in or aware of animal rights. There are more people aware about compassion to animals than veganism alone.
– A strong commitment to working with young people and is well-respected among the students.
– Experience working with high school students as young volunteers.
– Familiarity or affiliation with World Vegan Vision or a similar organization, e.g. PETA or ASPCA. Experience in activities related to veganism, animal rights or environmental issues is a big plus. – Your sponsor could also be a parent or community volunteer.
- Get support from your local World Vegan Vision chapter. Contact your local World Vegan Vision chapter via the contact form or any person you may know pesonally. Make sure that World Vegan Vision will be able to support your club at your geographic location.
- Get someone from the chapter to be your primary contact (World Vegan Vision Chapter Contact). This person will be key to helping you and your Club get connected.
- Find out what requirements your school has for starting a club. This is especially important if you want to receive school funding or resources, such as meeting rooms and permission to hold events on campus.
- Put together a presentation that articulates the benefits of having a vegan club in your school.
- Your school may also require you to have: club constitution, club leadership positions, and a club sponsor – all of which you will find in the
- Register Your Club
- All members of your vegan club are considered volunteers for the World Vegan Vision and must register with the World Vegan Vision website, our online volunteer resource.
- Note: In accordance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998, people under the age of 13 cannot be registered on the website, but can still be a member of your vegan club. Members under the age of 13 must complete a parental consent form and submit it to the local unit to be recognized as a volunteer and Club member. Your local World Vegan Vision chapter will provide this form.
- You’ll also need to register your club with World Vegan Vision.
- Hold the First Club Meeting – Invite your World Vegan Vision chapter Contact to join in the meeting to answer questions and provide support and guidance in setting up the action plan for the Club.
- Find out what interests all the members and brainstorm activity ideas. Activities must align with the mission of World Vegan Vision and fundraising.
- Collect contact information for all your members so that you can publicize the next meeting.
- Prepare for elections: inform members about available positions and request applications.
- Announce when and where the next meeting will be held.
- Provide information to Club members about how they can sign up to be a World Vegan Vision volunteer and officially join the vegan club.
- Create a Google Group, Facebook page or a Meetup.com group or similar to easily connect and communicate with club members and document the activities.
- Keep in Touch with your World Vegan Vision chapter
- The Club and the sponsor should make sure that they keep in touch with the World Vegan Vision chapter, especially your unit contact when starting the Club. Keeping in touch will ensure a better working relationship and continued support in the future.
- Record your club activity after every club activity and/or service project on your vegan club’s web page in World vegan Vision website.
- Track and submit the hours that your club members spend volunteering for activities.
When you are ready to start your own vegan club please let us know via this form to request sponsorship.
That is it! You are on your way to enjoy belonging to a club with unique opportunities and exciting activities.
Get more ideas at Veganteen.net about what you can do as a young vegan.
Do watch this video on how to start a club.