Free Program Helps People Go Vegan by Matching Them with Mentors

vegan-options-at-the-grocery-storeKnow someone who needs a leg up to make veganism happen? Most of us do: that well-intentioned co-worker who can’t keep away from Five Guys; that curious aunt who’s always asking about your diet; that college roommate who lives on ramen. And helping people go vegan is what Vegan Outreach’s Vegan Mentor Program is for.

Basically, a prospective vegan can sign up and almost immediately be matched with a mentor via email. This person will help with anything and everything — from grocery store shopping to how to answer common questions.

The program is 100% free, and as far as mentees, it’s open to anyone looking to live a more veg-friendly lifestyle. To become a mentor, there are a couple of criteria.

“Being vegan is one of the implied criteria,” Jack Norris, executive director of Vegan Outreach, tells Latest Vegan News. “Beyond that, it’s mostly a matter of hooking people up with others who are compatible. We tend to weed out people who push a restricted version of a vegan diet–we don’t want mentors telling our mentees they should avoid all processed or cooked foods. We also emphasize that the mentorship is not for giving or receiving medical advice.”

While the program originally launched in 2014, it’s undergone some improvements and revisions since then. Now, any mentee who signs up will be matched to a mentor within 24 hours.

As far as the program’s size: “The sky’s the limit! We currently have 700 mentees and 300 active mentors. We’d love to have thousands rather than hundreds,” says Norris.

Click here to visit the Vegan Outreach site and sign up as a mentor or a mentee.

Follow Latest Vegan News on Facebook, on Twitter @LatestVeganNews, and Google+ , and sign up to receive our daily headlines in your inbox here. 

Hannah Sentenac

Hannah Sentenac

A wizard of words, lover of all living things and vegan mac 'n cheese master, Hannah is the vegan girl behind bharmless.com. Her writing has appeared in Live Happy magazine, the Miami New Times, OneGreenPlanet.com, MindBodyGreen.com, FoodRevolution.org and numerous other publications and websites. She's obsessed with vegan pizza and crop tops, the holidays, and all things Los Angeles. You can reach Hannah directly at hannah@bharmless.com.

You may also like...

5 Responses

  1. Avatar Matea says:

    I love this idea! Having a mentor to connect with is sure to help those on the fence make the veg leap..

  2. Avatar John Whyman says:

    This article lacks the link for some reason: http://veganoutreach.org/vegan-mentorship-program/

    • Hannah Sentenac, Editor-in-Chief Hannah Sentenac, Editor-in-Chief says:

      Hi John, The link is in there, it’s just hyperlinked so it might not be as obvious. I’ll try to make it more clear. Thanks!

  3. Avatar Troy says:

    Sign me up! I would love to mentor people looking to move to a plant based diet! It’s easier than you think. In fact, stop thinking and start eating plants!

  4. Avatar Jean Bettanny says:

    Thank you for the article, Hannah!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *