spreading the seeds of change...

“how wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ... anne frank

ever heard of freekibble? or freekibblekat? maybe you’ve earned ‘kibble karma’ by answering the trivia questions on these sites…. if not, it’s about time i introduced you to mimi ausland, whose website i came across a few months ago...

at 7 years old, too young to volunteer at her local humane society shelter, she was determined to help animals and started mailing spare change to the shelter... at 9 years old she was finally accepted as a hands on volunteer... 

at 11 years of age she was inspired while playing an internet game called freerice, which donates several grains of rice to feed the poor for every correct answer to a trivia question - she decided something similar could be done with kibble for shelter animals and freekibble & freekibblekat were born...

her volunteer work and freekibble idea led to mimi being named 2008 aspca kid of the year... mimi and her 3-legged friend maty were also the inspiration for mimi's mother, brooke smith, to write a book "mimi and maty to the rescue"...

currently, at 15 years of age, mimi is the humane society of central oregon’s goodwill ambassador... she and maty visit schools and community centres to talk about animal safety (and show off how clever maty is!)...  you can read her blog here...

another inspirational young womon i discovered recently is carylanne joubert - i read about this young animal activist on the howling for justice blog... carylanne is 15 years old, with a love of writing and wolves...  combining both passions, she is now a published author of two books - 'cry of the wolf', & 'mingan'...

"I wrote Cry of the Wolf to teach the truth and dispel the unfounded fears about wolves by telling their story through the eyes of Mingan, a wolf pup who not only learns about wolf life but also witnesses firsthand the effects of Man’s encroachment." 

 

"Mingan (ages 3 and up) teaches lessons about wolves for younger audiences to destroy the image of the Big Bad Wolf."

about the author (from the amazon website)...

"Born in Rhode Island in 1996, Carylanne Joubert has been focused on working to help wildlife since the age of four. Her first influences, Steve Irwin and Jack Hanna, instilled in her a love of animals and a desire to learn more about each one and what can be done to help them in the wild. Her father having served in the US Army, Carylanne has lived in many states before settling in Central Florida. Home-schooled her entire school career, she is now completing her high-school education through Florida Virtual School. Carylanne being a gifted student has excelled in her studies and is 2 grades ahead of her peers. She decided to use her talents in writing to tell the story of the Yellowstone Wolves through the eyes of Mingan, a wolf pup. After completing a project for the science fair about the wolves and their struggle Carylanne became passionate to do more to help. She is dedicated to working to help all animals and intends to continue to write her tales to tell the stories of many of our wildlife who are in endangered or otherwise need protection. She intends to pursue a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a minor in Foreign Languages. A portion of all her proceeds will go to organizations such as Wolf Mountain Sanctuary." ... interested in supporting carylanne and the organizations she believes in? you can purchase the books here...

while on the subject of books, i must mention ruby roth... ruby is a young (20s-something?) artist, designer and writer...  vegan since 2003, she was inspired to write a picturebook while teaching art in an after-school program where the kids were interested and inquisitive about her vegan lifestyle...

that's why we don't eat animals "takes a candid, compassionate look at the plight of animals on factory farms, using gorgeous artwork and lively text to introduce vegetarianism and veganism to early readers." you can read more here... (i can't wait to check it out - i requested it for the library some months ago - it's being catalogued and processed now so should hit the shelves very soon!!)

i was pleased to read that she has another picturebook due for publication in april this year...

vegan is love - which "introduces young readers to veganism as lifestyle of compassion and action. Ruby Roth illustrates how our daily choices ripple out locally and globally, conveying what children can do today to protect animals, the environment, and people across the world. From the food we eat to the clothing we buy, from the use of animals in entertainment to the benefits of organic farming, Roth explores the many opportunities we have each day to act with kindness."

while doing some research, i stumbled on an interview with ruby at 'bitch media' and was impressed with her reply to the question "For you, what is the relationship between feminism and animal rights?"

her response: "They go hand-in-hand, both being vehicles of cultural critique and ultimately self-determination. If you call yourself a feminist but you eat animals, there is a good chance you have not yet examined the sexual politics of eating meat, let alone how we allow our well-being, our health, and our physical body to be determined by the interests of certain food and chemical industry leaders. Also, you may not yet truly know how animals suffer impossible atrocities without rights, just as slaves and Holocaust victims did. As liberal as I was, I would have arrived at veganism sooner, by the way, if the American Studies program at UC Santa Cruz (a mecca for vegans and Women’s Studies) had included food as a subject we turned our race-class-gender-sexuality-lenses onto, right alongside history, culture, labor, music, politics, etc. It is incredibly hypocritical to be an activist for freedom or civil rights or equity or equality if you eat animals today."

i'm heartened by such inspirational, intelligent, articulate, determined, committed, young womyn - perhaps there is hope for a compassionate world yet!!!