Our first regional newsletter - Southeast U.S.
Hi Vegan Leader,
Welcome to our first regional newsletter for Vegan Corporate professionals in the Southeast U.S.
Our mission at Vegan Leaders in Corporate Management (VLCM) is to empower employees to bring plant-based initiatives into their workplace. By doing this, we also help companies strengthen their environmental and social commitment, and raise corporate awareness of the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.
My name is Colleen, and I’m the Regional Engagement Manager for the Southeast Region of the US, based in North Carolina.
I'm here to connect us all to one another, provide recommendations for upcoming vegan events local to our area, and recommend ideas for exciting initiatives to spearhead in your workplace.
🌱 Why this newsletter?
Many of us aspire to:
Be agents of change to promote sustainable, healthful and compassionate eating in and beyond our workplaces
Meaningfully connect with other vegans for social support
The goal of this newsletter is to help us inspire change locally and connect those of us who live near one another.
We are pleased to share that the VLCM LinkedIn Group now includes over 300 Vegan Leaders in the Southeast. Displayed below is the geographic distribution. By clicking on this interactive map, you can zoom in and select a specific area of interest.
For member privacy, we’re sharing just member numbers rather than names. However, if you’d like a few individual contacts for networking, you can enter your request here. At VLCM, we like to see these kinds of requests:
Names of other vegans working at the same company as you to start a plant-based employee group
Names of other vegan professionals in your city or metro area to make new friends
🌍 Actions you can take this Earth Day
Share the environmental benefits of a plant-based diet with your colleagues and/or your company’s sustainability department using this Plant-Based for the Planet infographic!
🌱 Want to inspire a positive change in your workplace?
Consider presenting the idea of your workplace adopting the model Greener By Default, in which plant-based meals become the default with meat and dairy available on request. Many companies are eager to implement sustainable policies and this program is an effective way to do just that. Companies like LinkedIn have successfully implemented this model (see video), cutting meat intake by half through the program.
You could also consider proposing the idea to other sustainably-minded employees and sign the email from all of you to show broader support for the initiative.
Please feel free to copy and paste this template to your manager to advocate for Greener by Default in your workplace.
📣 Upcoming events in the Southeast
VIRGINIA
August 16-17 Virginia Beach - 2nd Annual VA Soulful Vegan Fest
NORTH CAROLINA
March 27 Moore Square - Triangle Spring VegFest
SOUTH CAROLINA
May 5 - Columbia VegFest
GEORGIA
April 19 - Atlanta Vegan Festival
May 3 - Atlanta Vegan Street Fair
August 2 - Marietta, Georgia Veg Fest
TENNESSEE
Monthly, Nashville Sunflower Cafe Monthly Vegan MeetUp
March 1-31 – Knoxville Vegan Chef Challenge
May 31 - Memphis Vegan Festival
August 5 Memphis – Planted Rock Festival
FLORIDA
March 23 North Miami - Taste of NoMi Vegan Food Editions
April 26 Orlando - International Vegan Food Festival Orlando
KENTUCKY
September – Louisville Bluegrass VegFest
ALABAMA
March 31 Montgomery - Vegan Night Cork & Cleaver
