Help Vegans and the Community with Vegan Drinks

Being vegan can be lonely when you’re the only vegan you know, and making, even finding, vegan friends can be especially hard in a town or city full of people. Vegan Drinks is a social networking event which helps to make the process a little easier. The event meets monthly, organizing a place, typically a bar, in which fellow vegans in a town can meet, mingle, network, and even possibly become new friends. The original Vegan Drinks event started in New York City in 2008, and it continues to meet on the last Thursday of each month at Fontana’s Bar in the Lower East Side. You don’t even need to drink to be able to attend, just be a conversation starter.

Beyond meeting new vegan friends however, Vegan Drinks is a great setting in which vegans can come together to help raise awareness for select non-profits. Each month, the event benefits a selected non-profit, often times a sanctuary, to be the focus of the meeting. While there is no charge to get into a Vegan Drinks event, the occasion sets up a chance for non-profits to have a presence, speak about their cause, and host a raffle, all items donated by vegan companies, with proceeds going towards the non-profit. It is a wonderful concept that helps vegans to not only connect, but do some good for organizations as they enjoy their time together.

This month, Vegan Drinks in New York City will be benefiting Farm Sanctuary. Such prizes include a shirt from Vaute Couture, a giftcard to MooShoes, a signed copy of Gene Baur’s Farm Sanctuary, a gift certificate to a vegan bakery, and a one night’s stay at the sanctuary’s bed and breakfast in New York. Vegan Drinks has previously hosted events to benefit other sanctuaries such as V.I.N.E. (Veganism is the Next Evolution) Sanctuary. While you snack on vegan food, and enjoy an evening out, you can simultaneously show your support and give back to the places that on a daily basis reaffirm why it is we are vegan in the first place.

If you do not live near New York City, you can check for a local Vegan Drinks gathering near you, from major cities to small towns. And if you think your own town or state has enough interest, you can host your own Vegan Drinks. You may be able to find a way locally to support sanctuaries near you, by hosting events which can possibly raise funds for these organizations. It’s a situation which benefits everyone, because while you meet new friends, you are helping others. Not just yourself, but sanctuaries, their dedicated owners and volunteers, and the animals.

Vegan Drinks in New York City will meet Thursday, July 25, at Fontana’s Bar (105 Eldridge Street, in the Lower East Side). You must be 21+ to attend.

Photo credit: vegandrinks.org