Vegan 40 year Veteran Kindness to All Educator
By Jules Lavallee
(The Hollywood Times) 6/30/20 – Empathy has never been so needed as now during the pandemic. Animal Hero Kids needs us! Animal Hero Kids as an organization believes in non-violent, positive and proactive ways of achieving the goal of preventing and stopping harm to all species of animals.
Empathy is needed more than ever given this global pandemic, how is Animal Hero Kids creating global impact?
Yes, there has never been a time where we need empathy more than right now. Multiplying empathy, the building block of kindness is my life’s work. When I was in 6th Grade there was a girl nobody else wanted to talk to, for an imagined crime like having greasy hair one day, or something as equally unimportant. Her name was Pam, I chose her for teams in gym class, talked with her at lunch and defended her from the others when they would ask why are you talking with her. Pam was killed after high school, her life ended abruptly. Her short life never had the chance to get any better, all she had was her time in school.
When I investigated stockyards and slaughterhouses and witnessed the hellish animal abuse there, I knew changing hearts and choices was a necessary must. Kindness to all, two-legged or four, desperately needs to be amplified, multiplied, and reflected around the globe.
These are unprecedented times, three out of four super viruses, like COVIDS, stem from the mistreatment and traumatization of animals, the lethal virus of racism is rampant in the United States. Understanding, consideration, kindness, critical thinking are qualities I have been growing across diverse populations around the globe for forty years.
You are asking celebs to join forces with Animal Hero Kids. What are your goals in the upcoming months?
Hey, celebrity readers, Animal Hero Kids needs you! You have a following, a larger voice which can reach a wider audience, you can help make World Animal Hero Kids Month a success. Yes, I have had to adapt some of the projected activities to the current challenges. We have morphed #animalherokidtober to a worldwide reach. Two hundred activities are projected to lift up, celebrate, encourage, and recognize compassionate and courageous youth.
Creative ways to expand the Animal Hero Kids toolbox are exploding into a shower of dance, song, film, including a new children’s book and short claymation film.
How’s this for full circle? One of the 1,000’s of presentations I have done in schools was to a pre-school and elementary school in Miami. A brother and a sister who attended the schools were affected, positively, and, consequently, their entire family. Today the family helps all species of animals with their kind, vegan choices. The preschooler is now an adult film school graduate and a claymator for the film!
As Sir Paul McCartney said, “It doesn’t matter how old you are, the good news we can all still help animals in need” and that is true for #animalherokidtober too.
All ages can help make positive change, there are 10 ways to participate and a signup form on the AnimalHeroKids.org
An example of a few activities are organizing a screening, or reading of the Animal Hero Kids books in your local library, shelter or farmed animal sanctuary. Contact your state or municipal government representative and ask if they would proclaim it to be Animal Hero Kids day, and we will treat them to a plant based lunch.
Share your vision for the future. What are the key points that you want people to know?
I will not give up on my dreams, one is to have a reality or a reenactment type show about the kindness, courage, and compassion I foster and empower. These stories are literally the lifeblood of what is sorely needed today. Instead of reality shows with people behaving badly, well, how about one where we meet the 13 year-old African-American boy who rescued his neighbor, a disabled man from an apartment fire, and then returned to rescue the disabled mans’ dog all while waiting for the fire trucks to arrive? Or the 12-year-old who saw a pig who fell off the back of a slaughterhouse truck and brought the pig back to life? Or how about the 9-year-old who saw 100’s of just hatched chicks being gassed and suffocated, routine for male chicks in hatchery and created Animal Hero Kids so no other child would feel powerless to help other animals again?
Then why not an Animal Hero Kids World, while I am thinking about dreams? A place for kids and teens to meet some happy, rescued animals, hear their stories, and experience, learn, and be empowered to be animal heroes. They could also enjoy creating scrumptious vegan food, which helps the planet, human health, and animals. I envision school field trips, webcams, summits, the annual awards we do.
You have a beautiful book Animal Hero Kids Voices for the Voiceless. Tell us about the story and why kids love it so much?
These stories and more are beautifully highlighted in the “Animal Hero Kids Voices for the Voiceless” book Volume 2 has just come out and now there is an e-version.
I am so grateful to the many big-hearted celebs who have contributed quotes to the book. Joaquin Phoenix, has given a quote about the fact he was an Animal Hero Kid at just 3 years old and Jessica Chastain tells why she chooses to be vegan.
Montessori schools are using the almost 284-page book for their curriculum. It is full of positivity, classroom projects and service learning projects and wonderful true animal rescue stories. It even has some scrumptious vegan recipes, too.
The goal is to gift a copy to every school library, we are all volunteers and every cent goes to achieving Animal Hero Kids educating, activating goals. We are always on the lookout for more volunteers, there is a Join Us form on the homepage of the site. If anyone knows of any possible sponsors, backers, dream granters, who may wish to help us with this goal of giving a copy to every school library. Let me know. The book won a “Skipping Stones Honor Award” from a multicultural youth magazine, the tales are a heartwarming balm.
Do you have any additional thoughts?
Thank you, Jules, for asking these thoughtful questions and covering our story. We do not have an advertising or PR budget and your work amplifying Animal Hero Kids vital work helps more than you know.
Final words
Come on board the Animal Hero Kids train and help us reach all corners of the world with the kind2all mission. We are here standing on the precipice. We are here ready to fly towards a magnified, consistent kindness, join us!