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Outstanding Activist!
In
2002, Kirsti Gholson and Chris Kerr attended Farm Sanctuary's Farm
Animal Forum in Trenton, NJ. Although both Kirsti and Chris had already
become vegan before the Forum (Kirsti in 1987 after reading Diet
for a New America and Chris more recently after Kirsti urged him to
learn more about factory farming), they had never attended an animal protection
conference before and had never seen video footage of farm animal abuse.
While at the Forum, they watched the documentary "Life Behind Bars,"
and were deeply moved. The film inspired them to become more active on
behalf of animals.
Since 2002, Kirsti and Chris have tried to divide their volunteer time evenly between outreach activities, legislative work, and hands-on work with animals. They feel that it is very important for activists to address a full scope of animal issues, so they happily support a variety of organizations including Farm Sanctuary, PeTA, Tribe of Heart, The Sea Shepherd Society, the International Institute for Humane Education, In Defense of Animals, and many others. Their activities on behalf of animals have included helping Farm Sanctuary gather signatures to ban gestation crates in Florida, working to change Woodstock's city animal ordinance language and laws through IDA's Guardian campaign, organizing fundraising events for local sanctuaries and legislative groups, participating in anti-vivisection campaigns and vegan outreach tabling, and helping in the effort to ban the sale and production of foie gras.
Living close to the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary and the Catskill Animal Sanctuary allows Kirsti and Chris the chance to participate in hands-on work with animals. Thanks to their friendly relationship with these sanctuaries, the couple is able to enjoy close contact with a wide variety of furred and feathered beings, help out with farm chores, and occasionally foster needy animals. One of Kirsti and Chris' favorite foster kids was Danny, a lamb now living at Farm Sanctuary, whose company they enjoyed immensely while he was with them. They even let Danny sleep in their bed!
As a business developer, Chris has been focusing his attention on mission-oriented enterprises that find alternatives to the use of animals in industry. When not working his day job, Chris also enjoys putting his building skills to use for animals. He lovingly built the corrals and feed boxes for Farm Sanctuary's Rescue & Rehabilitation Center in New York and can be found most weekends barn-building at the nearby Woodstock sanctuary. A singer/songwriter, Kirsti is currently working on a new CD, which includes animal rights-related songs. She is also a member of an overtone singing group called Prana. With the intention of peace in its compositions, Prana presents Kirsti with another avenue to spread a message of love and compassion for all beings. As a team, Kirsti and Chris have found great fulfillment in giving "compassionate living" presentations and workshops where they use films and literature produced by Farm Sanctuary and other organizations to help raise awareness about the far-reaching effects of our daily choices on all beings and the environment.
Thank you,
Kirsti and Chris, for all that you do on behalf of suffering farm animals!
Your compassion and commitment are an inspiration for many!
Together, we ARE making a difference. If you would like to find out more about volunteering your time to educate others about factory farming and vegetarianism, please contact us at activist@farmsanctuary.org, or call 607-583-2225 ext. 229. Click here to find out what YOU can do to help!