LIVE Mentorship Program
Mentor Manual

Welcome!

Thanks for signing up to become a LIVE Mentor! We are so excited to welcome you to the Chilis on Wheels family and cannot wait to have you paired with your very own mentee! This manual is designed to serve as a resource- explaining policies, procedures, and helpful facts that may assist one in their role as a mentor.

What is Chilis on Wheels?

Before we begin, it’s important to have a solid foundation on who we are as an organization. As a LIVE Mentor, you’ll be representing us and the work that we do for communities around the country. Learn a bit about us below!

Our Beginnings...

Chilis on Wheels was started in November of 2014 by Michelle Carrera. When she couldn't find a soup kitchen that served a vegan Thanksgiving meal, she decided to prepare her own chili and take it directly to the community. After seeing first hand the need for such a program, she became inspired and committed to bringing vegan food to those in need.

Our Mission...

Chilis on Wheels makes veganism accessible to communities in need through services such as meal shares, food demos, clothing drives, and mentorship. We provide networks of support and build strong empowered communities within the areas that we serve. 

Our Culture...

We believe in treating all living beings with kindness, empathy, and respect regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, language, religion, ability, ethnicity, class, circumstance, environment, level of addiction, or species. Because of this, we do not turn away anyone in need of our assistance.

Our Vision...

Chilis on Wheels believes that an empowered community is key in dismantling systematic inequalities that prevent veganism from being attainable by poor and low-income communities. Through our networks of support, we're collectively building alternate systems to make veganism accessible to the areas that we serve.

Our Services...

As part of our mission of making veganism accessible to communities in need, we offer a wide range of services- all of  free of charge. Read a bit about them below!

Meal Shares

Through our regularly scheduled meal shares, we provide vegan food to anyone in need of a warm meal. In addition to chili, we now offer a wide range of vegan meal options to best cater to our communities needs.

Workshops

Upon request, we provide vegan workshops for the members of our communities. From food demos to talks on veganism, we'll work with your church, community center, school, or group in whatever way we can.

Vegan Dog Food

Contrary to popular belief, dogs are actually omnivores- making meat-free diets appropriate for canines. Because of this, we provide free vegan dog food for our clients with dogs upon request.

Free Store

Our Free Store offers cruelty-free toiletries, sleeping bags, and a variety of other objects upon request.

Clothing Drives

During our clothing drives, we provide free weather-appropriate, cruelty-free clothing in good conditions to anyone in need.

Mentorship

We offer a free, 21 day program which includes daily informative emails, a full cost-effective meal plan, and a mentor of a similar background.

Microsanctuary

With millions of farmed animals being exploited, we provide a space where animal liberation is possible.

Youth Engagement

We provide a platform of encouragement and mentorship to children and teenagers to engage in building and improving their community.

Special Events

From movie nights to holiday celebrations, we host a wide range of events for the communities we work with.

What is Veganism

Now, if you’re signing up to become a mentor, odds are you’re already pretty familiar with what veganism is. However, we’d still like to take the time to go over the way we define veganism as an organization! A vegan does not use, wear, or eat animals or animal products, or products that have been tested or are dependent on the exploitation of animals. Although there are many reasons to go vegan, the following are some of the most common… 

for the animals

for the environment

for your health

for Justice

All animals want to live, love, and be free. Veganism ensures that animals are not exploited through the commodification of their bodies and body-secretions. On dairy farms, mother cows are immediately separated from their newborns and forced provide milk to farmers rather than their calves. In factory farms, egg-laying hens are crammed into filthy cages- unable to move or spread their wings. These are only a few of the many injustices that farm animals experience on a daily basis. All animals have the right to freedom.

Animal agriculture is the leading cause of climate change. Methane gas, land clearing needed for grazing, animal waste seeping into waterways are only a few of the awful environmental side-effects of animal agriculture.

A plant-based diet helps reduce your risk for developing certain cancers, and lower your blood pressure which helps reduce your chance of heart-related illnesses while supporting your immune system. Type 2 diabetes is entirely preventable, and plenty of research suggests a plant-based diet can help ward off the disease.

Animal agriculture consistently oppresses communities of color. Factory farms are often located in poor communities, polluting the air and water, driving property costs down, and taking tax breaks instead of contributing to a town. Slaughterhouse and processing-plant workers, mostly people of color are some of the most exploited workers, routinely denied health care, living wages, union opportunities, and enduring hostile and physically dangerous working environments.

Disclaimer

This manual is not a contract of employment. Any individual may voluntarily
leave upon proper notice, and may be asked to leave Chilis on Wheels at any time for just cause. Any oral or written statements or promises to the contrary are hereby expressly disavowed and should not be relied upon by a prospective or existing mentor. The contents of this handbook are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the Board of Trustees. 

What is the Low-Income Vegan Education Mentorship Program?

The Low-Income Vegan Extraordinaire Mentorship Program is the first vegan program to take into consideration our cultural and economic identity into the way to a successful step into veganism. Just like with non-vegan food, and life, there are a variety of products at all price points. But our ethnicity and our economic class is something that helps define our life, our choices and our approach to veganism needs to take those things into consideration. Participants receive 21 daily informative emails, a cost-effective daily meal plan, and will be matched with a mentor to set them on their way to a new vegan life!

Your Role as a Mentor...

As a LIVE mentor your role is to support your mentee as they begin their new vegan journey. Here are a bit of the your responsibilities…

Contact the mentee and introduce yourself within two days of receiving the matched-email. 

Reply to mentees questions as they arise.

Check in with the mentee if they haven’t reached out.

Work to build a relationship of trust and support with mentee.

Share resources, recommendations, tips on vegan living.

 Support mentees through challenges with family, friends, or more general things.

 Provide a vision of veganism rooted in justice.

Why Culture and Socioeconomic Background Matters?

Our culture and socioeconomic background impacts every area of our lives. As vegans, it impacts what we can and cannot buy. Veganism has often fallen into a consumer-driven lifestyle where you can access products that are animal-like. But another veganism is possible. One does not need to be wealthy in order to live vegan, and our culture and identity makes the way we are vegans differently. Our veganism looks differently- our food looks different, our language is different. Having a mentor that understands our culture and our socioeconomic status can make us feel welcome and be the difference in a successful transition to veganism.

Chilis on Wheels Hospitality Code

Names
It’s nice to hear your name, so make sure to learn the names of your mentee.

Avoid Labeling
Labeling people creates invisible barriers. Labeling creates divisions and can foster an “us” and “them” syndrome.

Respect Limits
Personal questions can be tough to answer; don’t put mentees in awkward positions by asking personal questions. If your mentee needs to talk, give them the chance, but don’t pry.

Maintain Confidentiality
We all like to keep some things to ourselves; all information about mentees is confidential. Do not discuss your mentee’s situation with other people.

Don’t Proselytize
We see clients from different religions, including atheism. We will not proselytize or make anyone uncomfortable or unwelcome by sharing our own personal beliefs.

Don’t Force Food or Ideas
Sometimes we don’t feel like eating a particular food, so accept refusal- it’s not personal, maybe next time. Same goes with our tips and ideas.

Things to Consider...

While you can meet the mentee in real life if you so choose, please know that Chilis on Wheels does not make itself responsible. Please exercise caution. 

If at any time you feel unsafe with your mentee, please contact live@chilisonwheels.org or your local authorities right away.

Chilis on Wheels does not condone any racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, or speciesism. 

Do not recruit your mentee into other activist spaces. 

 Do not share medical advice. You may provide resources but never an opinion. 

 

You're All Set!

Congratulations- you’re officially ready to become a LIVE Mentor! Helping someone transition to veganism is fun and meaningful experience- so enjoy the time! Feel free to contact us at anytime if any questions, comments, or concerns arise at live@chilisonwheels.org!