{"id":13604,"date":"2019-05-24T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2019-05-24T13:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=13604"},"modified":"2019-05-17T12:52:45","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T16:52:45","slug":"utah-student-wins-5000-vegetarian-resource-group-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2019\/05\/24\/utah-student-wins-5000-vegetarian-resource-group-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"UTAH STUDENT WINS $5,000 VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP SCHOLARSHIP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Leigh Harris said, \u201cGrowing up, I always had a passion for animals. In fact, at the age of four, I declared that I wanted to be a cheetah when I grew up. When I realized that this was not a viable option, I decided that I wanted to somehow be able to involve my passion for animals into my life. \u2026 At the age of thirteen, I was finally able to transition to vegetarianism.\u201d

\u201cI became involved in volunteering at the Volunteers of America Youth Resource Center. Jeremy Beckham, who just happens to be the first recipient of The Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship, and his partner, began the monthly dinners for homeless youth in 2015. My family and I were a part of the first volunteer group to sign up. When Amy and Jeremy have been unavailable to lead the volunteer group, we are one of the first families they call to fill in for them. We plan the meals, shop for the groceries, and organize the volunteers. It has become an event that we look forward to every month.\u201d

\u201cSome examples of the dishes we have made are curries, sloppy Joes, lasagna, chili and cornbread. Some of the most popular dishes have been jumbo pasta shells stuffed with spinach and a homemade cashew ricotta cheese, a cheesy broccoli soup, and a chana masala with roti. We prepare enough food to feed fifty youth. The majority of them come back for seconds. There is a girl who resides at the shelter who is vegan and is always so happy to see my group when we\u2019re making dinner. \u201cWe have a $100 dollar budget for every dinner \u2026 which shows\u00a0that you can eat a healthful diet with variety on a budget.\u201d

One reference said, \u201cAs a proud and grateful recipient of the 2003 Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship and an active member in the animal protection movement, it is my distinct pleasure to recommend Leigh Harris \u2026 Utah Animal Rights Coalition is the organizer of the annual SLC Veg Fest, the largest vegan festival in Utah, with approximately 5,000 attendees each year. Last year, Leigh was one of three young people on a panel discussing issues affecting vegan youth. Leigh shared her experiences as a vegan in middle school and high school, and provided meaningful advice for those in attendance about how to navigate tricky family and social situations as a young vegan. I was thoroughly impressed with Leigh\u2019s natural confidence as a public speaker, her storytelling ability, and her mastery of the facts related to veganism and nutrition \u2026 Speaking from personal experience, a scholarship from VRG not only provides tangible resources for the recipient, it also carries with it a humbling endorsement of one\u2019s character, past accomplishments, and future potential .. I truly believe \u2026 that (Leigh) will be a steadfast and effective advocate for animal rights.\u201d

The deadline for the next Vegetarian Resource Group scholarship is February 20, 2020. Applicants should be graduating high school in spring of 2020. For details about past winners and applications, see: https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/student\/scholar.htm<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To support additional scholarships and internships, donate at www.vrg.org\/donate<\/a> Call (410) 366-8343, or mail a check to The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leigh Harris said, \u201cGrowing up, I always had a passion for animals. In fact, at the age of four, I declared that I wanted to be a cheetah when I grew up. When I realized that this was not a viable option, I decided that I wanted to somehow be able to involve my passion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13606,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13604\/revisions\/13606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}