Children’s Educator Gathers Families Around Vegan Story Time
Cruelty Free You + Me serves up snacks, art, and conversations
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Overview
At the end of 2019, during a post-holiday walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, Victoria Hauptman’s vision became clear. She’d been an educator and vegan activist for more than a decade and recently began tinkering with an idea to support a kinder world by merging these two passions — starting with her community in Chicago, Illinois.
As an educator, Victoria created a learning environment in her classroom where students could express their curiosity about animals. As a vegan, she felt it was important to give truthful answers when students asked where their food came from. She communicated in a child-friendly way that did not cast blame or guilt about families’ food choices and was mindful that many families have limited resources. Her approach was respectful, and she shared helpful information with parents who showed an interest in learning more about accessible cruelty-free options.
Victoria recognized a need for vegan families with children and veg-curious families to support each other. In January 2020, she started a cruelty-free club that would eventually be the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Cruelty Free You + Me. The organization developed Compassionate Children of Chicago, a donation-based educational program that focuses on veganism, animals, and the environment. Sessions incorporate family-friendly stories, hands-on activities such as art projects, vegan snacks, and conversations that teach children and their families about compassionate living — all in a judgment-free environment.
Goals
- Provide outreach and education about veganism and animal rights
- Make plant-based options accessible in under-resourced communities
- Strengthen awareness and support for animal sanctuaries
40+
families engaged every week at Wicker Park Farmers Market
260+
individuals connected at special events
75%+
families added plant-based snacks and/or meatless day at home
Approach
Cruelty Free You + Me began in January 2020, but by their third month, they encountered COVID restrictions. This hurdle prompted them to pivot their focus away from in-person interactions temporarily. Instead, they organized plant-based food drives for underserved communities (in partnership with local organizations serving Chicago’s food deserts), and developed the Sanctuary Advocacy Network.
Cruelty Free You + Me now uses a three-tiered approach:
- Compassionate education for families
- Assistance for underserved families
- Support for animal sanctuaries
Story Time at Wicker Park Farmers Market is especially successful because it fills a need in a primarily non-vegan community every week — families need entertainment for their children while visiting the farmers market. What’s more, parents are impressed that this entertainment provides such quality education about animals, the environment, and health.
The program includes themed stories and activities. For example, on Earth Day, conversations centered around fighting climate change with plant-based foods. In June, they hosted a special Pride Day Parade, to the delight of enthusiastic families.
While story time incorporates books with vegan messages, often kids’ nonfiction books are great openers for talking about the dignity of all animals. Science picture books about ocean animals, for example, captivate audience members of all ages.
And because families often return on a weekly basis, conversations are evolving and ongoing. For example, children shared their personal goals for Earth Day and returned to describe their experience the following week.
We were able to raise awareness about how food and lifestyle choices impact the world around us, including climate change. We educate others about alternatives in our local community, as well as help families think about their daily actions and how they can do more to do better for the environment.
Victoria Hauptman, Founder and Executive Director of Cruelty Free You + Me
VegFund Grants
Victoria used her VegFund grants for:
- Kid-friendly snacks (such as popcorn, pretzels, fruit snacks, juice boxes, granola bars, and applesauce)
- Art supplies (such as crayons and coloring books)
- Story Time Books (such as Different? Same!, Baby Animals with Their Families, Every Family Is Different: Even Animal Families!, and All Kinds of Animal Families)
- Informational packets for families to take home
- Individual mini workstations with an art supply kit for each child.
Challenges
- The windy city presents a challenge for outdoor events! On Earth Day, the team used what items they could as paperweights to keep materials from flying away.
- Time constraints. Each child needs time to express themselves in the group — and the sessions typically run for only 45 minutes each.
The children had many great ideas to share about animals and creating a better world for animals.
Victoria Hauptman, Founder and Executive Director of Cruelty Free You + Me
Results
- Cruelty Free You + Me is serving a universal need in the community — Parents report that without the story time, they would have nothing to entertain their kids with during their farmers market visits.
- Food sampling has resulted in more than 75% of families choosing plant-based snack options and incorporating meatless days into their weekly schedule.
- 40+ families attend story time every week at the farmers market.
- Families are learning together! Both kids and parents are surprised by how much they learn, and many have added story-time books to their home libraries.
- Kids are naturally curious about where their food comes from, and Cruelty Free You + Me answers questions in compassionate, respectful, age-appropriate, and truthful ways.
- Teaching compassion means all families are attracted to and welcome to the events, regardless of whether they are vegan or not.
- Families received plant-based food assistance during COVID restrictions.
- Local animal sanctuaries benefit from extra awareness.
Top Tip
Whatever outreach you’re offering, ask yourself how it serves your community’s current needs. Victoria’s programs didn’t have an existing audience when COVID restrictions began, so switching to online content did not guarantee anyone would participate. Instead, she focused on serving her community in other ways, including plant-based food assistance. When she returned to in-person events, those events fulfilled a need as well — providing a resource for families who want to go browse the farmers market but have no way to entertain their children.
Recommended reading:
How Surveys Make Us Stronger Vegan Advocates
How Eat Drink Disrupt Summit Supports Wellness in BIPOC Communities
What’s Next?
Cruelty Free You + Me is developing a more formal survey for families to evaluate the program so that they can make further improvements. They are also developing lesson plans to share with families in the future, perhaps through an in-school program! Whatever project they may launch, they are sure to bring a thoughtful and respectful approach to meeting kids and their families where they are to teach about enjoying vegan foods and leading more compassionate lives.