2009 Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals

Sunday, October 4, 2009 was Farm Sanctuary’s Walk for Farm Animals in NYC. This was my first time attending and the first time I ever attempted fundraising. My husband and I registered and created a fundraising page on Firstgiving. We named our team “Farm Angels” and used the logo of angel’s wings. We set a goal of $500 and thought we would be lucky if we raised a small fraction of that money. Several times a day, I reposted my plea on Facebook asking people to sponsor us. I put a gadget on this blog and emailed requests to co-workers and friends. Lastly, I posted about the walk on the Weight Watchers discussion board (the last time I did that, WW pulled my post).

Although the day started out rainy and muggy, it soon became a beautiful sunny day. When we got to the Merchant’s Gate at Columbus Circle, we could already hear the enthusiastic crowd. Lines of people were registering and mingling. Volunteers (many of my friends from vegan Meetups) were helping to register people and giving out really cool t-shirts designed specifically for the event. After a welcome address by Farm Sanctuary President and Co-Founder Gene Baur, the walk commenced.

Hundreds of people with signs and Farm Sanctuary leaflets walked for over 90 minutes up Central Park West and back through the park. It was an interesting experience. People, New Yorkers and tourists alike, gawked at the crowd of walkers trying to read our shirts and see what our group was representing. Some people smiled and graciously accepted leaflets and flyers about compassionate eating. Others rolled their eyes or shook their heads as we walked by, showing us clear disdain. One group of people sitting on a park bench really stood out to me. As we walked by (just walked, mind you, no chanting, no protesting, just walking), one of the women in the group rolled her eyes and said with exasperation, “Oh, come on!” When offered a pamphlet, another woman actually snatched it from the walker’s hand and said in a vicious tone, “Give me it. Here’s what I think” and forcibly threw it in the garbage can. The walker took it back out of the trash and kept walking. What a forceful reaction to our just walking by! It’s amazing to think anyone could find something wrong with people striving for compassion. What that nasty woman didn’t realize was that the walker who handed her the pamphlet was CNN anchor and author, Jane Velez-Mitchell. I wonder if it would have made a difference had she known that.

New York State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal spoke about how pets are often victims in domestic violence situations and encouraged lobbying for legislation to protect them. Shawn Sweeney from the Jane Goodall Institute spoke about their incredible and important work. John Merryfield, a northern California-based stand up paddler, told how he completed a 3-day, 72 mile paddle around Lake Tahoe to raise money for Farm Sanctuary.

There was a surprise visit from Terence Gerchberg who competed on The Amazing Race last season. Gerchberg was a vegetarian who faced a challenge to eat meat for money. Today Terence is a vegan who says if ever faced with such a challenge again, he would never go against his ethics and values. Inspiring!

Other speakers included John Phillips who is active in NYC politics and David Benzequan who is an invaluable member of Farm Sanctuary and a great friend.

The coordinators of this year’s walk, Ruth Santana and Robyn Lazara stood up to thank the many, many people who made this event possible. Ruth and Robyn did an amazing job themselves and I’m proud to say they are my friends!!

The walk was an amazing event. It is estimated that over 700 people attended. Vegans had a strong voice in NYC yesterday and it felt so good to be surrounded by so many compassionate people who feel the same way about animals as I do. Sometimes it can feel lonely being a vegan in a non-vegan world but yesterday, the people who walked through the park with ice cream cones were the outsiders who looked like they didn’t belong. Maybe one day the whole world will look like that. It’s something to aspire to.