You may find that your school does not have an organized club related to your interests, but chances are you are not alone! Starting a club in your school is an amazing way to spread the word about the vegan and vegetarian lifestyle, and it’s a great satisfaction. It’s also a great way to find like-minded people at your school who care about the same things you do. Running a club can also be a huge responsibility and helps you communicate productively with your friends.
The rules and criteria for starting a club vary from school to school. Sometimes it’s enough just to meet with an extracurricular teacher and fill out an application. If you are announcing the start of a club, take care to advertise and create a good reputation for it so that people want to join. You may be surprised at how many like-minded people there are in your school.
Even if your club has five or fifteen members, make sure all students are aware of its existence. More members is better than fewer, because a lot of people make the club more interesting if everyone brings their own experience and perspectives.
Having more members also helps in spreading awareness of the ideas of the club. It is also important to have a consistent meeting time and place so that potential members can easily find you and join your club. The sooner you start organizing a club, the more time you will have to reach the club’s goals before graduation.
Addressing fellow practitioners can be very fun and creative! Creating a Facebook page for your club can help recruit people and spread the word about the issues your club focuses on. There you can place information and photo albums on various topics, including circus, furs, dairy products, animal experiments, etc.
On the Facebook page, you can exchange information with club members, communicate with them and advertise upcoming events. A more direct way to attract people is with a billboard at school. Some schools don’t allow this, but if you can get in touch with school management, you can do a little presentation in the hallway or in the cafeteria during lunch break. You can distribute flyers, stickers and information about veganism and vegetarianism.
You can even give your students free plant foods. You can invite them to try tofu, soy milk, vegan sausage, or pastries. The food will also draw people to your booth and spark interest in your club. You can get leaflets from vegan organizations. Or you can make your own posters and hang them on the walls in the corridors.
Your club may simply be a place for socializing and discussion, or you may be running a massive advocacy campaign in your school. People are more willing to join your club if there is interest there. You can make your club dynamic and lively by hosting guest speakers, free meals, cooking classes, film screenings, petition signings, fundraising, volunteer work, and any other kind of activity.
One of the exciting activities is writing letters. This is a simple yet effective way to get students involved in animal welfare. To write a letter, club members should select an issue that everyone cares about and manually write letters and send them to those who are responsible for solving the problem. A handwritten letter is more effective than a letter sent by email. Another fun idea is to take a picture of the club members with a sign and text and send it to the person you are writing to, such as the prime minister.
Starting a club is usually a simple process, and once a club is up and running you can go a long way in spreading awareness of the issues raised by veganism and vegetarianism. Organizing a club will give you a very valuable experience at school, and you can even mark it on your resume. Therefore, it makes sense to think about opening your own club in the near future.