{"id":17014,"date":"2021-03-01T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-01T14:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=17014"},"modified":"2021-02-17T14:32:37","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T19:32:37","slug":"tips-on-starting-a-vegetarian-club-in-high-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2021\/03\/01\/tips-on-starting-a-vegetarian-club-in-high-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips on Starting a Vegetarian Club in High School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Nina Lehr and Tisha Bhat, VRG Interns<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a student, one of the best ways you can advocate\nfor vegetarianism is by starting a club or organization at your school. From\ndocumentary screenings to sharing fun meal ideas, the opportunities for fun and\nengaging club activities are endless! Starting an organization will also allow\nyou to gain confidence with public speaking and learn valuable leadership\nskills. With hard work and dedication, you can make a difference in your\ncommunity and introduce your peers to a rewarding new lifestyle. Here are some\ntips that may help you in running your own vegan\/vegetarian club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip #1 Create a strong leadership team<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running a club requires a lot of planning, so make sure you\nfind other like-minded peers who can help you with this process. You could go\nabout this in many different ways. For instance, you could advertise that your\nclub is seeking student leaders on a school bulletin board or announcement\npage, or maybe ask your friends if they know people who would be interested.\nOnce you find several leaders, make sure everyone has clearly defined roles, so\nthat there isn\u2019t confusion over who is in charge of each task. Brainstorm and\ndiscuss everyone\u2019s interests and skill sets when deciding on roles. For\ninstance, if someone is great at writing, they can be in charge of email\ncommunication. Someone with an interest in graphic design can design the club\nmaterials, such as PowerPoints and club merchandise. One challenge I sometimes\nfaced when leading my club was trying to take on too many responsibilities.\nThus, it\u2019s helpful to try not to overestimate the amount of time you can\ndedicate to your club. Factor in homework, other extracurricular activities,\nand other commitments when you decide on which tasks you perform and which\ntasks you delegate. It\u2019s also important to maintain strong, open communication.\nThis can be done in a variety of ways, and technology is often very helpful in\nfacilitating this. Try using Remind, Google Classroom, group chats, and similar\nplatforms. Make sure to hold officer meetings frequently, and update your plans\nas needed. If your school assigns you a club advisor, be sure to maintain a\ngood relationship with them. In my case, the club advisor was really helpful\nand a great help when it came to planning meetings and events. If you are open\nand willing to collaborate with yours, it can be very beneficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip #2 Have good vegan food at your meetings!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Providing delicious vegan food at each meeting is a great\nway to get people interested in your club. If you have an Instagram account for\nyour group, post a picture of food you\u2019ll be giving out as a way to promote\nyour next meeting! This was one way that I was able to attract a substantial\nnumber of peers to my club! Try having a taste testing activity\u2013 this will not\nonly be fun, but also show participants that vegetarian food can be tasty and\nfull of variety! Around different holidays, provide attendees with seasonal\ngoodies (for example, you could have a vegan Halloween cookie decorating event\nin October). Bringing plates, napkins, and utensils is a good idea. Ask your\nclub advisor (or the person in charge of organizing clubs at your school) about\na budget for your club. Typically, schools will allocate a specific amount of\nfunds you can use towards club materials and activities. Using some of this\nmoney towards food, utensils, and similar items can be very helpful! Another\nimportant tip is to be very careful about allergies! Be sure to disclose any\npossible allergens (gluten, nuts, etc.) that are present in your food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip #3 Be open to questions and collaboration<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making your club members feel welcome and valued is very\nimportant! Tell participants that they can feel free to ask any questions about\nveganism\/vegetarianism, no matter how silly or basic they may seem. Be friendly\nand open to clarifying any questions they may have. If you appear to have a\njudgmental attitude towards non-vegetarians, this may deter people from both\nyour club and considering eating more veggie food! Also, be open to hearing\ntheir ideas for future club meetings and events. You might get some great\nsuggestions to use later on! One tool that I used was an anonymous google\nsurvey for suggestions and feedback. I would put it in the emails I sent out to\nmembers so that they could have another way to provide input to the club\nleaders!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip #4 Have guest speakers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inviting guest speakers from other vegetarian-related\norganizations is a great way to engage with the greater vegetarian community!\nIt also can attract new members to your club and be a way to add variety to\nyour meetings. Try reaching out to organizations that have led meatless\nmovements! Some ideas are Peta and I\u2019m Not Lovin\u2019 It. You could also host the\nleaders of vegetarian clubs at other schools near you. This is a fun way to\ncollaborate with other like-minded students and hear their ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip #5 Screen Documentaries<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is often a great way to introduce people to veganism\/vegetarianism\nand spur discussions about important topics. Generally, it is advisable to\navoid graphic documentaries, as some people may not be able to tolerate viewing\nsuch material. This could deter people from coming to your club and seeking out\ninformation about the cause. Thus, try to stick to informative, engaging, and\nnon-graphic videos. If you want to recommend a more graphic documentary, maybe\nprovide information about it in your club\u2019s mailing list, or simply mention it\nat a club meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more organizing ideas, see:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/teen\/#activism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/teen\/#group<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/teen\/#food<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/teen\/#school<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Nina Lehr and Tisha Bhat, VRG Interns If you\u2019re a student, one of the best ways you can advocate for vegetarianism is by starting a club or organization at your school. From documentary screenings to sharing fun meal ideas, the opportunities for fun and engaging club activities are endless! Starting an organization will also […]<\/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-17014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17014","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=17014"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17016,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17014\/revisions\/17016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}