Want to Volunteer?

Well, we’d love to have your help. However, we only have limited slots for volunteers. So, if you are interested, we’ll need to know ahead of time.

If you can, please come to our open volunteer meeting at PSU (Smith Memorial Union 229) on May 27th, at 7pm. We’ll do our best to put you to work. If you really can’t make it to the meeting, please at least email volunteer@letlivefoundation.org, before May 27th, and we’ll try to figure something out.

Sorry, we can’t promise you the volunteer work for free admission deal if we don’t hear from you by May 27th, or you don’t come to the volunteer meeting. Thanks for your understanding.

Hope to see you soon.

Hey there Do-Gooders! Please join us for the next Let Live event.

What: Skill Share
When: April 17th. High noon.
Where: Bye and Bye, 1011 Northeast Alberta Street, Portland, OR

Huh?: The point of this thing here is for all of us to gather together and try to compile a list of local talent that whose services are available for local non-profits and folks in need.

Accountant? Grant writer? Leafletter? Massage giver? Pet sitter? Vet? Carpenter? Designer? Musician? Knitter?

Everybody has something to offer. Everybody. Really. Trust us. Show up with your thinking caps on and some willingness to pitch in.

xoxo
Let Live

Please join us for our next Let Live event! Please?

Sunday, March 21, 2010 / 1:15-3:00pm
Matt Dishman Community Center (77 Northeast Knott Street, Portland, OR)

lauren Ornelas, Founder and Director of the Food Empowerment Project, will be discussing how to use food choices to create a more just world.

Eating a vegan diet is certainly the first step in that direction, but do you drink soda or eat chocolate? Learn about how what you eat and drink might not be connected to animal exploitation but might indeed have direct connections to human exploitation!

Also learn about the unjust food system that currently exists in the U.S. regarding access to healthy foods.

lauren has been involved in the animal rights movement for more than 20 years and has done undercover investigations of factory farms and conducted successful campaigns against corporations such as Trader Joe’s and Pier 1 Imports.

The written word is a powerful tool activist-consumers can use to effect change.  Join us for a letter writing party targeting Nordstrom and its business practice of carrying designer clothing lines that feature fur.  As a family-owned store, Nordstrom prides itself on its responsiveness to the demands of its customers.  Help us bring attention to this important issue and demand Nordstrom eliminate fur from its stores.  Letter templates and information about fur will be available to help get you started.  Don’t want to write to Nordstrom?  No problem – work on a Letter to the Editor or anything that inspires you.  Bring an appetizer/light dish to share, connect with other activists and get the word out!

Please join us at the Matt Dishman Community Center (77 Northeast Knott Street) on Sunday, Febraury 21, 2010, at 1:15pm.

PS. Please RSVP at our Facebook page, thanks.

Let Live is very happy to get Jasmin Singer back to town to help kick start some increased participation here in Portland. Bring a friend or two and help spread the word pretty please.

When: January 24, 2010 / 1pm
Where: Matt Dishman Community Center, 77 NE Knott Portland, OR 97212, Classroom A
Cost: Free
RSVP over at this event’s FaceBook page if you please.

If you saw a dog getting kicked, you would probably do all you could to help her. But what if you don’t actually see her getting kicked, yet you know for sure it’s happening? Do you just shake your head and say “that’s too bad…”? As long as you’re not kicking the dog yourself, is it really up to you to do something about it?

Practicing non-violence is a necessary and harmonious way of life. But when it is up to you to take “Ahimsa” one step further and – in the words of Gandhi – truly “be the change you wish to see in the world”?

In many ways, we are gaining traction as a movement: pro-animal legislation is popping up left and right; vegan celebrities are coming out by the masses to speak up for animals; cruelty-free cuisine is becoming more widespread and delicious than ever before; positive animal rights-themed media coverage and book publications are on the rise; and it seems that people are “seeing the light” and going vegan before our very eyes.

Shockingly though, the percentage of vegans is so small that it is still considered by some to be within the “margin of error.” For those of us who spend our evenings at vegan potlucks, meet-ups, and social gatherings with like-minded friends, this can seem unreal. Still, outside of the “vegan bubble,” ditching meat and dairy is usually considered “fringe” and animal rights is often seen as “radical”.

That is why it is absolutely necessary that vegans extend their advocacy to beyond just their meals, and speak up for animals in their daily lives. If everyone did just one thing a day for animals – one thing that can easily fit into your life as you know it – perhaps we’d exit the margin of error, wake up the rest of the world to the fact that veganism is a moral imperative and animal rights is a must, and create real change.

Margin of Certainty: from Veganism to Activism is an interactive workshop which will be led by Jasmin Singer, Farm Sanctuary’s campaigns manager. Jasmin last visited Portland when she spoke at the 2009 Let Live Northwest Animal Rights Conference. She is one of the voices behind the blogs “Making Hay” and “VEGdaily,” and her writing has also appeared in blogs such as “Crazy Sexy Life” and “Civil Eats,” as well as print publications like Satya and Heeb. Jasmin is also a contributor to VegNews Magazine. She has presented at numerous conferences including Taking Action for Animals, SUNY Social Justice Conference, and Farm Sanctuary’s Hoe Down. Last year, at age 29, VegNews named her a “20 Under 30.” Visit her at www.jasminsinger.com.

Let Live is hosting a community get-together, please join us and help this event be a success.

When: Sunday, December 13th, 5-8pm
Where: Matt Dishman Community Center (77 NE Knott, Portland, OR)
Cost: Free

Activities:

• There will be a volunteering open house. Come meet local animal groups, see what they are all about, and see who you might like to get involved with.
• “Re-thinking the Holiday Table” talk with Michelle Schwegmann. Will you be sharing your holidays with non-vegans? Michelle will share some tips on how to keep the tension low, and will arm you with several sure to please recipes.
• Cooking demo with Aaron Adams, chef at Portobello Vegan Trattoria. Come hear Aaron discuss crowd pleasing vegan entrees everyone will love.
• Cooking demo with Lisa Higgins, owner of Sweetpea Baking Company. Lisa will discuss holiday desserts, come see how the pro’s do it.
• Come sample treats from local vegan companies.

We’d love you RSVP over at the Facebook Event page, thanks. We’d also love you to please help spread the word about this. Bring a friend or three. Repost on your FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, Blog, whatever. Anything helps.

Hope to see you there.

xoxo
Let Live

****We’re very sorry to have to cancel our premiere of “Skin Trade” due to a family emergency. It will be rescheduled, we promise. BUT, in the meantime, please come out to “Fowl Play” instead. Bring somebody who needs to see it.****

National surveys show that the majority of Americans are opposed to the inhumane treatment of farm animals. In fact, Americans are in opposition to the very treatment animals face every day on factory farms. This disconnect that people have between the food they buy and the industries they support is exactly what agribusiness counts on to maintain its bottom line.

However, a growing movement of people are opposed to factory farming and the commodification of animals. They are organizing, documenting the living nightmare that animals face, and speaking out against animal agriculture.

Fowl Play illuminates the plight of factory-farmed laying hens through interviews with people who are fighting diligently to save them. A story of hope emerges as footage recorded inside battery cage and other facilities is balanced with personal accounts of the individuals working to protect the often-forgotten victims of the egg industry.

The film also introduces us to animals who survive the system: Hope, a hen left to die in a garbage can but then rescued by activists; and Consuela, a hen gassed on a farm when she was no longer useful but who survives to be rescued at a landfill.

The suffering that animals face on factory farms won’t end until enough people are motivated to change it. Fowl Play connects the dots between consumers and the practices they support, and leaves viewers with a groundbreaking message of personal change and community outreach.

When: Monday, November 16, 2009 @ 7pm
Where: Hollywood Theatre, 4122 SE Sandy Blvd
Cost: Free, but we’d really appreciate a donation to help cover costs

The Let Live Series Presents: How to Discuss the Fur Industry with Matt Rossell

As the chill of winter descends across the United States, many will set their sights on the perfect winter coat: thick and fitted with a nice German Shepherd trim. Sound ridiculous? Unfortunately, it is not as far-fetched as it seems. Often purposely mislabeled by manufacturers as “faux fur,” dog and cat fur products are common in today’s marketplace despite being banned in 2000 after undercover video from Swiss Animal Protection, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Humane Society International exposed dogs and cats being disemboweled, skinned alive and hung still screaming from metal wire.

Such deceptive practices are common use in the fur industry, which kills more than 3 million animals in the United States alone. Despite a steep decline in demand in the 1980s and 1990s, fur has recently made a dramatic resurgence due to fashion campaign tactics toting fur as “green” and promises by manufacturers that the fur was obtained using “ethical fur sourcing.” This talk will focus on what these terms really mean and give you the tools you need to discuss the facts about fur knowledgeably and persuasively.

The How to Discuss the Fur Industry presentation featuring Matt Rossell will be held on November 15, 2009, at 1p.m. at the Matt Dishman Community Center, 77 NE Knott Street in Portland, Oregon. ADMISSION IS FREE.

The Let Live Series is a monthly series of speakers, workshops and social events dedicated to promoting animal rights activism and education in Portland, Oregon. Sponsored by the Let Live Foundation.

The Let Live Series Presents Change One Mile at a Time: Lisa Shannon and the Run for Congo Women

As you read these words, the deadliest conflict since World War II is raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo. To date, the death toll is estimated to be over 5 million people – more than Iraq, Afghanistan and Darfur combined. This war is not only brutal in its intensity but also in its tactics aimed at destroying the center of the Congolese community: women.

It was a story about the violent war against Congolese women that inspired vegan activist Lisa Shannon to get off the couch and begin training to run the rugged forest of Portland’s Wildwood Trail – over 30 miles – in hopes of raising enough money to sponsor 31 women through Women for Women International, a program that supports women in war-torn regions with financial and emotional aid and education. What started as a lone run in 2005 has since blossomed into a global movement with runs in 10 states and 4 countries.

Fresh from her appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Shannon will share her thoughts on the intersection between veganism and human rights, the power of grassroots movement, uniting against oppression and how one person can make a difference.

The Change One Mile at a Time: Lisa Shannon and the Run for Congo Women presentation will be held on Sunday, October 25, 2009, at 1p.m. at Dishman Community Center, 77 NE Knott Street in Portland, Oregon. Admission is FREE.

The Let Live Series is a monthly series of speakers, workshops and social events dedicated to promoting animal rights activism and education in Portland, Oregon. Sponsored by the Let Live Foundation.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.runforcongowomen.org
http://www.womenforwomen.org

Your presence is requested at the Let Live Benefit Party at Bye and Bye, Portland’s favorite vegan bar.  The festivities will begin at 8pm on Saturday the 27th.  Age 21+ w/ valid ID, sorry kids. Come and blow off some steam, have a drink (with or without alcohol), eat some amazing food, and chat it up with all the new friends you made at the conference.  Bye and Bye will be donating a percentage of sales, so buy some stuff if you can.  No one will be turned away for lack of funds.  Bye and Bye is a 10 minute cab ride from PSU.  Feel free to share a ride with other attendees.  Everyone is welcome.

What: Let Live Benefit Party
When: Saturday, June 27th 8PM
Where: Bye and Bye - 1011 NE Alberta St Portland, OR 97211

Local Cab Companies:
Radio Cab 503.227.1212
Broadway Cab 503.227.1234
Portland Taxi  503.256.5400