These past two months have been a rollercoaster! I am grateful for the busy days because of the opportunity to serve all of you. But there are also tired and anxious days, when all we manage to sell are a few cups of coffee ☕ and a small bag of groceries 🛍️ And I have to worry about my bank account 😬

On those days, I remind myself about why I do what I do 🤔 Everyday Vegan is more than just a grocery store or mini-mart to me. This is a huge passion project and it is born out of an ambition to be of service to the community by creating a welcoming environment for other people who also believe in creating a world without animal exploitation 💚

Earlier this year, I spoke about Everyday Vegan’s new year’s ‘Revolution’, and told you about our MVP: Mission, Vision and Pledge.

The MVP has now become our daily mantra 😊 It is how I keep myself and my team optimistic about the future. Despite the slow days and the many mistakes we make along the way, we remind ourselves of our three-year mission to create the Everyday Vegan Village ♻️ , our vision for a world without animal exploitation 🐖, and our donation pledge. 💰

This month, we will be donating $500 to ACRES, our second donation of the year! It is a little less than last month’s because of a dip in our sales, but it is part of our pledge to donate a minimum of $500 however we are doing ✔️

Others donate a percentage of profits. But I choose to donate a percentage of sales. So this is 1% of everything we sell, before expenses and costs. Why? I want to make sure that donation and service are at the heart of the Everyday Vegan culture ☺️ My hope and belief is that we will learn to adjust our finances around this core commitment. And I want to do this because I am so grateful for the trust you have placed in both me and Everyday Vegan 🥰 By shopping at Everyday Vegan, I want you to know that you are placing your faith in a business with service at its core 💚

Two months ago, I had the wild idea to create a short, fun video to capture the meaning and spirit behind our MVP 😝 I did not even think twice before sending a text to Harsha. For those of you who have followed us since last year, you may remember that I’ve worked with Harsha before on a fun little project to feature Vitasoy plant milks on last year’s World Plant Milk Day 😊

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In early January, Harsha stopped by our store to shoot the video. As usual, Harsha was super prepared. She made an entrance like a super-heroine 🌟🦸‍♀️, decked in full videographer super-suit gear, with all her video and audio equipment. She commandeered the day; all I had to do was try my best to remember what to say 😊✔️

Well…easier said than done! I kept forgetting my lines (yes, that’s right, I made myself a script 😄) and I was very conscious of where to put my hands and how I was standing. But Harsha’s confidence and super-powers kept me centered ✨, and although I forgot my lines, who cares, because I just remembered to speak from my heart. 💖

Harsha did a fantastic job stitching together all of the takes of the day, overlaid some cool music and managed to weave a storyline within one minute ✔️

📣📣 I present the final product here for you today. She made me look more confident than I felt 😝

We hope you enjoy this short video. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. I really appreciate your endless support and kindness  💖✨

As always, my friends, thank you very much for being a part of the Everyday Vegan journey.  🙏

Love, 💕

Amanda