About AFA
Action for Animals was founded in 1999 in Seattle, WA by Dave Bemel and Kevin Gallagher as a student group at the University of Washington. AFA quickly grew and by 2000 was working throughout the greater Seattle area. By 2001, Action for Animals was doing outreach and education nationwide.
Action for Animals focuses on ending the suffering and deaths of farmed animals by educating consumers about their buying habits, particularly those related to food and clothing. Ninety-seven percent of animals abused and killed for all reasons in the United States - over 10 billion animals per year - are abused and killed for their flesh, milk, or eggs. Each and every person has the power to stop the suffering and deaths of these animals simply by changing their shopping and eating habits. It is for this reason that we choose to focus our efforts on vegan advocacy and outreach. Although AFA focuses on farmed animals, we do put efforts into other areas, including anti-fur campaigns and ending animal experimentation.
Action for Animals is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your donations are tax deductible.
2007 Highlights
-- Ran an animal rights outreach booth on the Vans Warped Tour - with exposure to hundreds of thousands of teens in 33 cities.
-- Mailed out 5,601 vegan information packs to people who requested them.
-- Produced and distributed a total of 36,550 copies of our multimedia CD-Rom on veganism and factory farming.
-- Maintained several outdoor magazine stands for distributing Vegetarian Starter Kit magazines. Through these stands and outreach at festivals and concerts, we distributed 15,850 Vegetarian Starter Kit magazines and 8,200 Guide to Cruelty-Free Living booklets.
-- Distributed a total of 248,464 pieces of literature.
Our work would not be possible without the generosity of people who donate to AFA and those who volunteer their time, both in Seattle and nationwide. Thank you to every single person who passed out a flyer, staffed an AFA outreach booth, showed someone a video, or wrote on an action alert - every single action makes a difference for the animals!
2006 Highlights
AFA Board of Directors
Dave Bemel, President & Treasurer
Dave has been vegan for 15 years and active in animal rights for the past 13 years. Before founding Action for Animals in 1999, he was active in Students for Animal Liberation at the University of Washington for over three years, during half of which he was running the group. Dave manages AFA's office and oversees outreach programs and operations. He has worked full time for AFA since 2001, though he does not and has never received a paid salary.
Amanda Schemkes, Vice President, Development
Amanda has been vegan and active in animal rights for two years and was vegetarian for the prior 16 years. She graduated cum laude from the University of Washington with a BA in English with College Honors and is currently pursuing an MS in Writing and Book Publishing from Portland State University. Amanda is in charge of grant writing and copyediting, and she assists in fundraising and educational outreach campaigns. She also runs Action for Animals operations in Portland, Oregon. She is a volunteer and does not receive payment for her work.
Nate Brasfield, Vice President, Information Technologies
Nate has been vegan for 12 years and active in animal rights for much of that time. He maintains the computers and technology for AFA and keeps our main website up to date. He is a volunteer and does not receive payment for his work.
Joanne Marrs, Secretary
Joanne has been vegan for seven years and active both with AFA and in the animal rights movement for the past six years. In addition to volunteering in the office and maintaining much of our database, Joanne assists with summer outreach programs in the Seattle area. She is a volunteer and does not receive payment for her work.