How To ‘Get The Ball Rolling’ And Create a Local Vegan Group

Our first meetup

As a bit of background info about myself…I’m Laura, I’m 26, and I live in Surrey, UK. I went Vegan on January 1st 2006. I didn’t know of any other Vegans at the time, didn’t have any culinary skills, and didn’t receive a great deal of support from family or friends, but it all came down to the fact that I knew that eating animals and by-products was wrong. I probably spent the first week or so living off very basic food, but I’m pleased to say that I quickly learnt how to cook, and am now able to create lots of delicious dishes!

Over the years I became aware of some Vegan groups, and made some great Vegan friends via Facebook, but none were particularly in my local vicinity, and travelling to London or Brighton, which are both a ‘hive’ for Vegan activity, was a bit much, and not something I fancied doing alone, or really had the time for. Last year I created a Facebook page, in the hope of connecting with any local Vegans and vegetarians. We gained quite a few ‘likes’, but I felt like a page was a little one sided, so I converted the page into a group, to make it more interactive. We now have over 70 members, and we’re gaining new members on a regular basis!

For months I’d wanted to arrange a Vegan and vegetarian meetup in our local area, but things like my schedule and my social anxiety had always held me back. A couple of the other members expressed an interest in meeting up, and as I’ve recently cut down my weekend work, I thought I really have nothing to lose, and I’m so glad I did! We made the commitment and set a date for our first meetup meal. A couple of members suggested a local pub restaurant called Toby Carvery. Although I was a little concerned at first, given the name, I was pleased to find that there were 3 Vegan options on the menu, as well as a Vegan desert (which isn’t sorbet or fruit salad–amazing for a non-Vegan establishment!). I asked one of the other active members to assist me with the admin side of the group, and together, we visited the restaurant to discuss our requirements, and book our table. Although the date we’d decided on was quite short notice, there was a total of 13 members, plus about another 13 who were interested, but unfortunately couldn’t make it!

The dessert!

Our first meetup was such an overwhelmingly huge success (I’d initially thought there may have been only about 4 to 6 of us for the first event!), and it was really refreshing to spend time with other like-minded, compassionate people, of a wide range of ages, and different lengths of being Vegan-a couple have been Vegan for many, many years, and some are quite new to the lifestyle. We’re hoping to keep the momentum going, and are aiming to arrange these events on a monthly basis, and although there aren’t any purely Vegan establishments in our local area, a lot of the restaurants have a couple of Vegan options, and we even discussed the possibility of having ‘pot-lucks’ in the future. One of the ladies who came to the event is a journalist for a local paper, and she’s going to write a feature on Vegan life, and said she’s happy to help publicize our group and events. I’m so grateful, as it’s so important that us Vegans support each other, which is something I lacked in the first couple of years.

Here are my tips on how to get a local Vegan/veggie group going:

• Make connections on social media–see if you can find any other local veggies.
• Create a group on Facebook (you could call yourselves ‘[place name] Vegans’, as an example).
• As your group grows, ask if any of the other members would like to assist with the admin side.
• If there are any other groups which aren’t too far away, invite them to your group and events–it’s good to support each other.
• Create a meetup group on www.meetup.com
• Advertise the group on any other community websites you’re on.
• Print some flyers with the details of your group to place in local veggie restaurants, health food shops, animal sanctuaries/rescues, yoga centres, etc.
• See if any local journalists are willing to help with publicity.
• Once you’ve gained a few members, discuss setting up a first meetup, and look at any Vegan options in your local area.
• Once a date is set, message and invite all of your group members, and don’t forget to confirm your requirements with the restaurant/establishment’s manager.

About the author: Laura is a 26 year old professional animal carer and dog walker, living and working in the East Surrey area (UK). She took on the Vegan lifestyle on January 1st 2006, and animal rights and welfare are her biggest passion. Find her on facebook.com/VeganLana and twitter.com/LauraStone90.