VeggieDate

Please submit your story to VeggieDate
==================================
June 2010
I met my partner on here : )
We actually met before, albeit briefly. We were both in relationships then, so a year later, when he saw my ad, he contacted me and now we are coming up to 2 years together.
I am very happy, I have found my soul-mate and we have a beautiful life together now. I had a long list of boxes to tick, and he pretty much ticked them all!
Being raw doesn't make meeting someone easy, but it was through this site..
I don't know if we would ever have got together without VeggieDate.
Thank-You very much.
Benjy

Nov 15th, 2009
Michael from Portland, Oregon

writes the following:

I like your service very much. I saw many high quality women on the site and I did connect with one that I email daily. It is too early to tell if it is a success story but if it works out I will try to email you the outcome. Thank you for providing this venue.

Nov 2nd, 2009
Steve from Laguna Hills, CA

writes the following:

Hi,
I was a veggiedate user and found a wonderful person on your site 5 years ago; we have been great long distance friends. She inspired me toward eating more organic foods.

Oct 23rd, 2009
Joe from West Babylon, New York

writes the following:

I met my current girlfriend via veggiedate and we are very happy together. This is why I am deleting my ad. I feel confident that I will no longer require your services. This site has served me well !

Thank you veggiedate !

Joe

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Have been dating someone who found me on your site and everything so far is great....thx
Jeff

Aug 31st 2008
jumba1969 and Samantha write:

THANK YOU!!!

Samantha and I wanted to let you know that we are married! :>)

We met last year on Veggie Date and after a year of long distance writing, calling, and traveling we have moved in together and gotten married.

It wouldn't have been possible to meet without VeggieDate and it is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Thank you for making it possible!!

Aloha
Jumba and Samantha (and Noah)

June 14th 2008
Kimberlin writes:

Dear VeggieDate,

I am seriously dating someone wonderful whom I wrote to on the first night I joined VeggieDate -- on a whim, just hoping to make new friends with an ethical viewpoint. Yours is the first and only dating site I have ever tried, but I have seen the misadventures that occur on massive sites such as Match.com and others, and that wasn't for me. One of my neighbors recommended VeggieDate to me. Anyway, I am learning to cook some wonderful dishes and feel happier than I have in a long time. Thanks for your great service. I am telling my friends about you. I did not expect this to work so fast, or so well! Amazing.

Regards, Kimberlin

I met a very nice person on Veggie Date and now we are getting married!
thank you!
Carolyn

I've been a VeggieDate member since 2003 but a couple of years ago I met a lovely lass who was into both of my interests(dancing & yoga) and fast forward two years later and we're married! We met on our first date at a Farmer's Market in Guelph. Most recently we got married at an Indian Temple in Richmond Hill as she now shares the same Yoga philosophy teacher as myself. The entire menu from the temple, to brunch, to dinner was entirely vegetarian(me) with options for vegan(her) and now we're getting ready to move into our new condo next month! We never would've found each other had it not been for VeggieDate!
Thank you so much,
Namaste,

Cheong & Janine Ng
www.blueskiesyoga.com

From: "Harm M.
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2006
Hello Steve,

Due to your VeggieDate site I met a nice person with
whom I am conducting a very regular correspondance already
for about 1 1/2 year now! Thanks a lot!

Harm M.
Netherlands

Nov 13th 2006
Angela Writes:

Hi there,

I just wanted to say thank-you so much VeggieDate! I had never joined an e-dating service before as I was wary of who was on them. I found the link to your website via some information I got from Farm Sanctuary folks. I was a new vegetarian at the time (I'm vegan now), and their literature suggested getting out and meeting other like-minded folks in the community and they also mentioned veggie dating services was one way to do that. I had no idea such a thing existed at the time, but I thought hey, great! At least we would have some important lifestyle/ethical things in common so I gave it a try. The first picture I saw, the first ever e-mail I sent via a dating service and YIPPEE!! I met my future husband on your website. We got engaged 18 months after we first met, and got married 2 months later. We are very, very happy!!

Thank-you so much VeggieDate!! You helped pave the way to a very happy, fulfilling and truly blessed life for my husband & I and our little family.

Cheers!
Angela :)

We both had profiles posted on other singles sites but neither of us were
meeting other people who were really like-minded. Rather coincidentally I
discovered Veggidate.org and signed up June 11th...which just happened to be
his birthday. I found him through a VeggieDate search in July and, after a
few encouraging phone conversations, he drove 12 hours from his city to mine
so that we could meet in person.

That was in the middle of August, and now in November we are planning our
wedding, and in the new year we will bridge the distance between us when I
move with my two children to live with him in New York.

We were both married and divorced and knew what we didn't want...but it
wasn't until we met each other that we realized what we had been missing and
now know exactly what we do want!

I wish everyone can find a partner and relationship equally as amazing and
fulfilling as ours is!"

Thank you!!!!!!!!
David

Date: Wed, 21 Jun 2006
Jesse and I met through Veggiedate a couple of years ago : )
Email correspondence led to a few meetings and we fell in love : )
We are a family now and expecting our first baby in January 2007!
Thank you so much!
Mel.

Thanks for your concern. I actually met somebody on your site over 3 years ago and we will be married in September. Thanks for the opportunity for us to meet as I'm sure we never would have otherwise.
Ramona

Anna and Ilya,
Moscow, Russia

John and I met on Veggie Date 5 1/2 years ago (March 9, 2000), and got married in Oslo, Norway, on November 27th, 2004! THANK YOU, VEGGIE DATE!!!!

I tried Veggie Date on a whim, after seeing an ad for a 3-month trial period for the site. After meeting some neat (and, well, less neat) guys, I became a paying member. John wrote to me shortly after the trial period was over, and it was love at first phone call! We talked for an hour, and I felt really connected.

We met at a Chinese veggie restaurant in NYC, and continued connecting. It felt so good to be with him. Time flew, and I felt so comfortable. It was so nice and natural! To make it even sweeter, my fortune cookie that night said that I was "about to embark on my life's journey of love!" I shyly read it to John, who lifted his glass (of NYC water) and toasted to that! Ah, it was so romantic!

The relationship blossomed, and we moved in together a year later, in 2001. We moved to Oslo in 2002, and have been here since. Our traditional Norwegian (vegetarian) wedding (with a Jewish flavor, as I'm a rare specimen of Norwegian Jew), was so beautiful that it takes my breath away thinking about it a year later!

Our first child is due on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday! We're thrilled, and can't wait to meet our little veggie!

THANK YOU again, for helping to make dreams come true! The happiness you have helped me to find--how can I thank you enough for the biggest gift life has to offer?? I can only say thank you a million times more!!! I thank you every day of my life!

Sarah and John Waters

Nathan really is a man I admire and look forward to growing old with. I am grateful to have benefited from your site. Thank you!!!

Just thought I'd share some happy news with you...and a success story for
VeggieDate. After having met via VeggieDate (we both had ads on your
site)...Kris and I were married on Sept. 17th of this year!
Kayla Rae :)

Thought you might enjoy adding this to your list of successful love stories!

Just to update you on another success story.Campbell and Lemur Lady (Sue) met through your Website last year. The attraction was instant and magical. We set up home together earlier this year and were married on the 29th July. We had a wonderful Ceremony at Haughmond Abbey, Shrewsbury, followed by a 'vegan' Reception at a local Hotel. Carnivores and veggies alike commented on how fantastic the food was!

Many thanks for bringing us together. we are completely and blissfully in luuuvvv
Best wishes
Campbell & Sue xx

I wanted to thank you for providing me the opportunity to safely meet
other vegetarians through your lovely site. Not only did I meet some
interesting people but I met my fiance. I never had the chance to meet,
much less date, other vegetarians but through your site I was able to find
many others with the same conciousness as myself, eventually leading Victor
and I to finding each other. Thanks again!

-Sharese
P.S. I forgot to mention also that my dad and step mother (Jesse and Lila) met on this site about 6 years ago and have been happily married ever since. Thanks again!

Another interesting aspect to this story is that I used to live in this area from 1979 - 1986. Ken had seen me bicycling around many times, but he wasn't a cyclist then, so I never noticed him. He'd even almost spoken with me once at a health food store but was too shy. (I wish he had!) Evidently, I was one of his inspirations for getting into cycling and eventually getting rid of his car. We knew a lot of the same people in the bicycle activist circle. Unfortunately, I had already moved away by the time Ken started pedaling.

Of course, the happy ending is that veggiedate got us together!
Diane and Ken

Just wanted to send you yet another happy story. I've been a member of VeggieDate on and off for over the years, since I was in college. I've met many good people through VeggieDate in that time. In fact, the first man I had good conversations with through your site is still a good friend.

Just over a year ago, I met Alex, who is now my partner. He did a search on VeggieDate for women with "rock climbing" in their profile. He found two, and one of them happened to be me. We started talking even though he lived several hours drive away, on the other side of the Sierra-Nevada mountains. Our first kiss was at the top of a climb at Lover's Leap near Lake Tahoe, about halfway between our homes. On the anniversary of that kiss, he moved in with me.

Thank you so much for providing the meeting ground. I never thought I'd meet someone with whom I have so much in common and with whom I feel so at home. The pool of people might be smaller on VeggieDate than on other sites, but there are some darn fine fish in that pool.

Best wishes,
Laura

Sent: Thur, April 07, 2005
Hi Veggiedate

You really were responsible for a wonderful thing.

I registered on veggiedate without any pre-conceptions, as a UK citizen. Very quickly a chap called John contacted me from Maryland in the US. We emailed for a while, then talked for hours into the night on the phone for a while before meeting last May, June, July & August. I then went out to the States on a career break for 6 months and lived with John during that time. I'm back in the UK now earning some cash to pay for my next career break - which will be getting married to the very same, gorgeous, wonderful John next June. Yippee!!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet the person I've been looking for my whole life. If you could just have arranged for him to be this side of the Atlantic, it would have been all the better!! Having said that, both he and I are looking forward to the stimulation and challenge of living and working in each other's countries.

Kind regards
Sharon

Many many thanks,
Gurudev

~ Jeff and I found each other in July 2004 through the VeggieDate website. Jeff is Canadian and I am Australian. (I am "Desert Girl," member 33843 and Jeff is 1608.) Jeff moved to central Australia in October and we are now living here together very happily with a beautiful baby. The baby's other biological parent is from a previous bad relationship that I was in, which ended a few months into my pregnancy. I had awful morning sickness and quit my job as a tour guide. Alone, feeling sick and sometimes sad, unemployed and pregnant I thought I would not find a new partner for a couple of years. Despite the circumstances I was mostly happy and enjoyed my social/family life and my pregnancy.

One day I was searching for my favourite website "The Food Revolution" by John Robbins when I stumbled across VeggieDate. Very curious but a little shy I investigated. I have never seen or used an internet dating/connections site before so when I tried this one, I couldn't help feeling embarrassed and kept it a secret. I took up the free trial offer and created a profile. I posted a picture of myself and stated that I was seeking friendship (not dating). I did not look at other profiles and I soon forgot about my ad. Then a couple days later I received three emails from friendly strangers. How exciting! Then I discovered I could look at all these profiles of other people. It felt wonderful to be in a virtual environment full of other vegetarians and like-minded people. Suddenly I was in the majority!

As I was scrolling through summary profiles of people I came across Jeff. I noticed the country "Korea" and that his face was not of Korean ancestry and found that curious. I was also impressed that he was a vegan and didn't drink or smoke just like me. . I have never met anyone else before who shares these values. I read his profile (luckily he had recently renewed his membership) and discovered he was teaching English in the city of Daegu. Coincidently my best friend did exactly the same thing the year before. I emailed Jeff's profile to my friend and she suggested I write to him. So I did! Was I glad I did that!

Jeff and I shared an instant connection. We have soooo much in common. It's so wonderful. He was surprised of course when I told him I was pregnant and single. We wrote very long intellectual emails to each other about animal rights, the state of the planet, Aborigines, our country of origin, our diet, we sent photos of each other, then followed long phone calls. South Korea and central Australia coincidently share the same time zone so phoning at the right time was easy. For the first time in many years I was able to have intellectual conversations that really challenged my paradigms of thinking. After resistance at first, I have changed the way I think about our relationship with animals. I now see that animals (unless rescued from their deaths) such as dogs, horses, bees and cows who are used for their milk are our slaves. Like the black slaves of America, given the choice, would rather be free.

We decided to meet. My baby was due to be born in early October. Jeff was due to finish a university course he was taking in early October. Two days after he graduated, Jeff packed up the life he knew in South Korea and flew down to Australia to be with me and the baby. While Jeff was on a jumbo jet plane, I was in labour! He arrived the day after my son was born and we met in the hospital! We looked into each other's eyes for the first time and fell inlove! (Well actually we had already fallen inlove over the internet.)
We were both suddenly parents, experiencing the joy and the stresses of a newborn baby. Jeff is really enjoying parenthood and I think it's great too. He is now settling into a new town and also continues his animal rights activism. I am a full time parent but I also continue my environmental activism and Greens politics. We love our baby and each other enormously and embrace our future with excitement, confidence and boundless possibilities.

~ My first impression of "Desert Girl" (DG) was attraction and apprehension. I was very attracted to her passionate soul and dedication to helping animals and our environment. I was apprehensive because I have very radical animal rights beliefs and I was afraid that she would find them unfamiliar. When I saw that she liked horse riding (something I strongly disagree with) I did not expect that we would become romantic. I also was not expecting to ever find a life partner. But when we communicate with each other it is so beautiful; we share such a genuine and loving connection. Our understanding and appreciation of each other grows and grows.

A third thing I never expected was to be a parent, but now that I am I love it very, very much. Nurturing a vegan child to build a strong, positive, altruistic character is as challenging as it is rewarding. The baby's smiles make my heart smile and I feel so at peace in this family.

Aside from the many things that DG and I have in common, we have perfect chemistry and compliment each other absolutely. I teach her what I know about animal rights and she teaches me what she knows about environmentalism. We continue to learn from each other as our love deepens every day. I love DG so much, she fills me -- overflows me -- with joy and warmth and love. It is so amazing that the foci of our passions are different, as we share and embrace the other's passion and they overlap into one. That is the metaphor for our life.

Desert Girl and Jeff

Dear Veggie Date Team,

We want to thank you so much for providing a platform for other vegans/vegetarians to meet. I had become a member after seeing a posting at a local Whole Foods Market because I had realized I could never date another meat eater. Soon after I decided to see if any vegans existed south of the border, and to my suprise there was one! Felipe and I met in February of 2003 and were recently married, August 14th, 2004.
Thank you for bringing us together and allowing two lives, two hearts and two cultures to come together!
Much Love,

Felipe & Michelle

Thanks for the wonderful service you provide. I met my soul-mate, the
love of my life, after only two weeks of rejoining veggie date.
I've never been happier! We are planning our new life together thanks
to you...

In gratitude,
Karina

We met in November 2002 and became engaged last October (2003) after returning from a trip in Switzerland. We were married in July. We had a South Indian Hindu wedding with some Irish aspects, as I am Indian and he is of Irish descent. Of course, there was vegetarian food throughout all of the wedding festivities, including a lemon-flavored vegan cake! I am attaching a couple of our wedding photos.

In appreciation,
Latha (and Sean) www.seanandlatha.com

I just deleted my ad, and you asked for comments. I deleted my ad because
another veggiedate member and I, from the next state, have met in person and
really hit it off! He feels like a perfect fit for me, and we've both
decided to delete our ads as a statement of our feelings for one another.

This is a success for your site, and I commend you for keeping your costs
low enough to make it a feasible place to look, and for helping vegetarians
find one another.

Thank you! I sincerely hope to NOT be back, but not because you aren't worth
it...but because I find continued happiness with this person.

Tammy, Founder
Dogs Deserve Better: No Chains!
Make a Dog's Life Worth Living
www.dogsdeservebetter.com

Just a note to say "Thank you!" I found the woman for me after one day
on Veggiedate! I couldn't be happier to report that I will propose to
her this week, and hopefully, live happily and healthily ever after.
Gratefully,
Adam
Los Angeles, CA

Everything has gone so well so far,I'm afraid talking about it will jinx it!Thank you,Veggiedate,thank you so much.I didn't think I could feel like this again.

Dear Veggiedate,
You have made two people very happy indeed. Through you I have met the man of my dreams and we are very much in love. We are living happily, peacefully and blissfully together and plan to marry sometime soon. We cannot thank you enough. If you would like us to send you photographs and updates then let us know, we would be very happy and proud to keep you informed!
With much affection,
Louise and Martin.

Thank you so much for your services to the Veggie community - we would never have met without you.

Jen & Robert

Marc and Kristi

The reason I am cancelling my ad is *because* your service was extremely succesful, at least for me and the lady I am now happily involved with!

Tara contacted me back in September of last year from America - We established a connection straight away and since then chatted via email, Instant Messaging and latterly by phone almost every day. She planned to move to England in January of this year, and it must be said that three months never seemed to last so long!

At last though, the big day arrived, and I was able to meet Tara - Everything that I had hoped for came to pass, and we are now both extremely happy and looking forward to a great future together.

I would like to pass on both my thanks, and those of Tara for being the facilitators of this meeting - I have often believed that vegetarians shre many other common beliefs about conscience, responsibility and Spirituality, and this has only been confirmed by the unerring way in which the two of us have clicked.

We may well have met (Fate being what it is) without your site, but you certainly made things much easier for eyes to meet across a crowded world..

My profound thanks and best wishes for you, yours and everyone else using your site.

Kindest regards,

Paul, United-Kingdom

Just to say thanks to the site!! Can't thank you enough...

I had first contact with my girlfriend from the site at the end of May 2002.
By November, we were engaged to be married.
So thanks veggiedate, you've certainly made 2002 very memorable for us both.
D.

Hello:

I'm happy so say that I'd like to cancel my veggiedate ad. I've met an incredible man through your service.

Please thank the gent at Veggiedate who contacted me when I pulled my ad, after I sent my photo. He wrote, asking if I was sure I wanted to pull the ad, and that he could put the photo on your homepage, which he did. Had he not put my pic on the homepage, Mark wouldn't have found me. Mark and I feel very lucky.

Thanks so much. Peace,
Sue

i wanted to take the time to write and thank you for your great service. i had moved to a new area a couple of years back that wasn't as vegetarian-friendly as i was used to. a friend suggested i try your dating service...and yes, i found true love. (well, he found me.) we immediately took our ads off veggiedate after our first phone call! we moved in together a few months after meeting. it was clear this was unlike any relationship either of us had experienced; this was meant for life. we've been together over a year now and couldn't be happier. in fact, he proposed last week and we'll be married in spring! your site allowed us to find each other across the continent...we owe our sincere and heartfelt thanks for your dedication and hard work. your work is truly important and your service is complete: professional, safe, thorough, and popular with vegetarians around the globe.
blessings to you all!

all the best in your future growth,

j & c ontario, canada

Web Sighting - Page 18 of Body & Soul Magazine May/June 2002
Veggie Valentines
     Single and vegetarian? Veggiedate.org, an online personal-ad service, matches up members who are seeking vegetarians and vegans for dating, serious relationships or just getting together for vegetarian events and dinners.
     With more than 7,000 active ads now on the website, Veggiedate.org has 14 categories of search criteria. Members can exclude drinkers from their searches, find veggies who live in the same area code and specify what ages and body types they're interested in. It's even possible to narrow your search to find only macrobiotic nonsmokers, "almost-vegetarians" who live in Australia or Buddhist vegans. And since the "vegetarian-level" search category ranges from "vegetarian-ish at home" to those who only eat raw food, members represent the entire spectrum of the vegetarian lifestyle.
     There's no charge for becoming a Veggiedate.org member, searching the ads, placing your own ad or responding to contacts from other members. But members must pay $9.95 each time they (correction: for 3-months of) respond to an ad. The site also features a chat room for visitors who want to connect with other vegetarians without going through the ad service.

Steve,
I don't think I ever replied about your service. I will give you the short story and if you need the long version, I would be happy to share that as well. I used your service back in Feb .of 2001. We dated for ten months and then got married. We are a perfect match and could not be happier.
Thanks soooo much! Kim, Fort Worth Tx.

Dear Folks,
I was on Veggiedate for about three months, and then I met just the right person ! She and I have joined forces and look forward to enjoying the uncanny harmony of our interests, diets, work interests, and recreational activitites for a very long time to come. Thank you for your help! It means so much to us to be able to cook dinner for each other and share the same food, which would have been pretty much impossible without a matching service like yours, since we both are vegan and have wheat allergies. Also, because of meeting through your service, we were able to discuss many important aspects of relationship which might have been avoided otherwise, before we got involved. I realized from these conversations what was most important to me and that we had what it takes to succeed as a couple. And since I made the difficult move of leaving my home town and entering a new country to be with my new lover, please leave my listing on your service, which now says I am looking for new friends !

- Carl of Victoria, BC.

Subject: Happily married, thanks to you! Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 Dear Steve, My husband, Kyle, and I were married this past June at Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary in Poolesville, MD. He saw my ad in '99, and joined so he could reply. I'm so glad he did. Thank you, Maura

Thank you for providing the service that you do. It was truly a blessing to find your website as it lead me to my husband, Jack. We met on Veggiedate in '99, married in January '01, and had a baby a few months ago!! Jack is the most
compassionate, kind-hearted person I have ever met and would have never found him if it weren't for you. All it took was one search and there he was- an hour and a half away from me. From that very first e-mail we clicked on so many different levels. I have truly found a soulmate in him.
Blessings,
Ashley

ps...we had a 9 1/2 baby after a completely vegan pregnancy and he was born at home!

The reason of my ad cancellation is a story of total SUCCESS. Through your
services I met a man that has already made me the happiest being on earth. He
is a sexy, truly spiritual, rawfoodist and much more. All this should tell of
the amazing, and conscious work that YOU do.

It is my pleasure to contribute with $10 donation.

Gratefully and sincerely.............annie

Jennifer and Larry

Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2001
Hi,
I believe my subscription has run out and I wish to have my ad taken off
of the site. I met someone from the site and we are getting married!
Thank you,
Kimberly
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Dear Steve,
I will most definitely give you a year's membership fee in the next two days. I just wanted to tell you that I have made several connections with people which seem
at this point far more satisfying than any "regular" date computer offering.
Thanks, a satisfied customer.

Hi,
I'm not going to renew... but that's because it worked! I met Annette from
Veggiedate 6 months ago. We're still going strong and plan to get married in
March. Kick ass, huh

Allen

I put an ad up in January. And luckily enough, Jeremiah saw it and placed his own ad just to meet me. Feb. 2 we met at Bouldin Creek (a veggie coffee shop). We talked for 5 hrs that night. During our conversation, we found that we went to alot of the same places, but never saw each other. The coincidences didn't end there. It turns out for the last year we've lived on the same street. He was 2403 and I was 2512. I never saw him riding his bike through the neighborhood and he never saw me hanging out on the front-yard swing or taking my daily walks. I remember checking out his car in the driveway once. That was almost 5 months ago, we haven't been apart more than a day since then. We may have never met without veggiedate, we would have just kept missing each other. We moved in together 3 weeks ago and life is great. I meeting his parents next week. Thank you for bringing people together.

May6700

"Chains of Love" is a new show on UPN in which one
person is chained to four others of the opposite sex--the goal being
to narrow the four down to one for the perfect match.
The show proves people will do just about anything for a date.
For those enamored with the Net, that means thousands upon
thousands of online personal ads, mostly with photos. It's no
wonder these people don't have the time to get out of the house
and meet someone.
Almost every portal and e-mail site has a personals section, from
Yahoo (http://personals.yahoo.com) to Excite
(http://personals.excite.com). Also out there are huge personals
pages such as Match.com (http://www.match.com) and
Cyberdating (http://www.cyberdating.net).
A lot of the sites are free, but some do charge, mainly for
responding to the ads. Voyeurism is still a bargain. Match.com, for
example, charges a whopping $24.95 per month. Gay and lesbian
site Planetout.com (http://www.planetout.com) recently started
charging a $49.95 annual fee.
There are three ways to enjoy these kinds of sites. The first is
to narrow the search to as close to home as possible and see
whether you recognize anyone from the neighborhood. Not that
you'd want to date them, but you'll know who's looking.
Second is checking out the dating pool in very obscure places,
such as Selangor, Malaysia, or Rankin Inlet, Northwest Territories,
Canada.
And third is strolling through the "other" category, which is
usually for relationships that don't fall into men seeking women,
women seeking men, women seeking women or men seeking men.
Sure, you'd think that wouldn't leave much out, but you'll find more
than enough material for a new Showtime series.
There are also plenty of specialty sites. After all, who'd want to
date someone who doesn't share their exact world view? Christians
have their own sites (http://www.meetchristians.com), as do Jewish
singles (http://www.singleandjewish.com).
Too mainstream? Pagans Meeting Pagans
(http://members.delphi.com/strix1/index.html) has personals for a
variety of nontraditional religions (but heavily Wiccan), all
apparently united in a tenet against good Web design. Sample ad:
"Just another lonely wiccan who would love to connect with others
of like mind. I practice a blend of Scots Gaelic and Dianic. I've
danced with the Faeries and have ridden the same Dragon for years
. . . 8, to be exact." Righto.
Astral Hearts (http://astralhearts.com) is for the "metaphysically
minded" single. Even clairvoyants need help once in a while. But is
channeling really a hobby?
If you're a vegetarian, as most of Europe is right now, there's
Veggiedate.com (http://www.veggiedate.com). The site is so PC
you don't even have to pick a gender for your search. But you can
rule out anyone who isn't as vegetarian as you. That's a good thing
because those vegan-lacto-ovo couples almost never make it.
Kind Planet, a "community celebrating life," has personals at
http://www.kindplanet.org/connections.html. We didn't get very far
into this one because the search criteria asked essay questions,
such as "What is love?" and "Describe your first meeting or date
with someone you connect with here."
Of course, if you're really kind, maybe you want to put a little
joy in someone else's life. Someone like a prisoner. Inmates for
Penpals (http://www.inmates-for-penpals.com/index.html) does
have personal ads (with photos yet), but it was a little too "Oz" for
us.
There are hundreds more personal ad sites out there, but right
now we feel an overwhelming need to exterminate every cookie we
picked up on this surf. And then we're going out.
Robert Burns is an assistant Business editor at The Times.
- - -
Robert.burns@latimes.com

---

Subject: Mermaid's big ADVNTURE1
Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2001 17:15:41 -0700
From: Amanda
I met met a Vegan god on your web page! To be perfectly VEGAN, the idea of
finding a vegan, non-drinking man outside of Georgia was hard to imagine,
especially at the tender age of 40.

BUT I saw an ad for a perfect gentleman on your web site, even though he
lived 2,000 miles away' in New Hampshire! We hit it off, and went to LAX,
PHX, and Fiji in February, 2000. His name is Gary and someday he is
going to be successful photographer. The Best lover and best friend I ever had.
xxoo,
Amanda

---

page 16, February 2001 veg-a-mate

www.VegetarianTimes.com

Trying to get a date with a fellow vegetarian can be harder than tracking down a soy burger in rural Texas. But don't bemoan your lack of options; instead, click on VeggieDate.com. Withmore than 4,000 ads from vegetarians and vegans all over the United States and 50 foreign countries, this nonprofit site will open up a whole new (cruelty-free) playing field. To find a match, fill out a short questionnaire about your preferences and write a paragraph describing what makes you so desirable. Whether you're out to make friends, looking for a casual flirtation or ready to get hitched (the site takes credit for three marriages already), VeggieDate.com is bound to have a few folks you'll want to get to know. Of course, there is one small catch: To respond to ads, you must first join. But with a free introductory 30-day membership, what do you have to lose? After the first month's up, the cost of maintaining your ad is only $9.95 for six months and $14.95 for a whole year. Even if you're not looking to meet people face-to-face, you might want to check out this 18-month-old site's chat room, vegetarian events calendar, list of North American vegetarian societies and extensive directory of eco-friendly products. -- Jena Bulger

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Subject: I have found true love........
Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2001 19:40:12 EST
From: Andrew

Hello To all at veggie date,
I just feel the need to tell everyone at veggiedate about the
wonderful Girl I have found
beacuase of your web site....
It all started june 2000 when I first recived An e-mail from K....I
was instantly turned head over heels, Needles to say she came over to England
from Washington D.C in August.... since
then I have visited her twice more including A suprise visit on her birthday,
the last time was new year 2001.
I am now giving up everything I know to start A new life in America
with the most wonderful girl I have ever met thanks to "Veggie.com" ..We are
to be married sometime Febuary 2001.........
Many thanks
again..................ANDY.....

---

RE: VeggieDate comments about deleted ad
Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 12:40:15 -0800
From: Sylvia

Steve,

I'm sorry, I haven't had time to reply to this email. It is better late
than never. I haven't had a chance to tell you that I did enjoy your site
but it worked so well for me that I don't need to use it anymore.

Soon after having my ad on veggiedate, I met a wonderful man who lives in
Spain. I have been planning for most of my life to live in Spain, so that
is how our conversation started. It progressed from there and we fell in
love. He is everything I always wanted and more.

He has already come to visit me here in Canada just before Christmas and he
will be here again in soon. Also, I am going over there for 3 weeks this
summer. We are already planning to live together when I move over there and
that may happen sooner than I had thought.

It goes without saying that I have recommended your site to all my friends
who are very happy for me.

Thank you very much. Sylvia.
------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Steve!

After several months of using your service, I’ve decided to
cancel my membership. Not because it doesn’t work, but because
it did its job. I have met the woman of my dreams after she
contacted me through my ad on your service. We are both very
happy and looking forward to our future together. I have found
the one for me.

It has been great to be on your web, it has enable me to change completely my destiny!
I will always be grateful to you for it, and, of course, i will recomend your site to everybody here in Spain!
Thank you again,

Aquiles

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Subject: Another success story!
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 15:14:59 -1000

Greetings and blessings to all!

We are adding our story to the others' who have found wonder full
relationships through veggiedate.com! Allan and I met in August 2000
through veggiedate and here I am in Hawaii visiting him in January 2001! I
highly recommend this site to those who are very picky about their choice of
partner with the pickiness being in the areas of vegetarianism/veganism,
spirituality, open mindedness, and related ideas. I also got to "meet" lots
of interesting men through veggiedate, so the acquaintances were fun in
themselves! While it is challenging to weave our long distance lives
together, it also gives us opportunities that we wouldn't have had
otherwise! So, thank you for the online partnering service! My world has
been altered forever and i love it! Namaste, Willow.

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Subject: hiding ad and supporting you
Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2000
Hello,
I am having to hide my ad because I am having a hard time keeping up with
the emails..I am going to send in a year dues..because your service is
wonderful. The people who have contacted me are all very sweet and
eco-friendly. I live so far away from everyone that it remains to be seen
if I will actually find a partner out of this service..but certainly I have
met and am still getting to know some wonderful folks. I no longer feel
like a lone waif sitting on an iceberg in the north sea. :-) katy

---

Subject: Re: VeggieDate comments about deleted ad
Date: Sun, 03 Dec 2000 16:22:03 -0500
From: Jacqueline

You guys are wonderful. I did meet a beautiful vegetarian because of you. I
will keep you posted on how it turns out for me. I will also donate $10 to
veggiedate. Thank you so much!!

---

Dec - Veggiedate is profiled on VegFamily

---

Date: Tue, 21 Nov 2000 00:13:39 EST
From: KatKea
I have found a beautiful soul, and am completely in love (found him thru.
veggiedate!!!!!!!!!!, thank you!), so please remove me from the ads, thank
you, kathy

---

Subject: Relationship success!!
Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2000 06:29:19 -0700
From: Rorik
Dear VeggieDate,

Wallace and I met via your website July 1999 while he was in Bosnia and I
was in Indiana. Our friendship took off and intensified within 4-5 months.
We met in December 1999 and our relationship has been strong ever since. We
are each other's best friend. Since last year we've tried to see each other
at least once a month. Things have been going so well that we plan on
spending the rest of our lives together. Thank you for creating a website
that allowed us to meet someone who has a similar background and philosophy about life.
Thanks again!
Laura

---

Subject: Mike and Suzy's Story
Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2000 01:03:43 EDT

Hi there,
I just wanted to take a minute and thank you all for allowing me to find my
soulmate, Suzanna. I've never found anyone as intelligent, beautiful, and
funloving as this amazing person.. and to think I found her over the
internet, of all places!
I was working for a non-profit in Boston, pulling some serious hours, when
I happened upon your web site while searching for a relationship outside of
work. For some strange reason, the only ad I responded to was for a woman
living in Iowa. Since I was halfway across the country, this was definetly a
long shot.
Imagine my surprise when she wrote back! We chatted by email, then on aol,
and finally on the phone for about 5 months. Eventually I couldn't take it
anymore, and I bought a plane ticket to fly out and meet her.
To say we hit it off is an understatement. I've never experienced love at
first sight before, but if it does exist, than this truely was it.
Unfortunatly, for the next four months, we only got the chance to see each
other about three times, and each time only for a little while. It was sheer
torture.
At the end of the summer, I quit my job, and moved out to Iowa to be with
Suzanna. I've never been happier, and it's all because of your site. So
once again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I hope you can bring
many other couples the happiness you've brought me and Suzanna.
Sincerely,
Mike

---

Subject: Very satisfactory service!
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2000 23:04:13 EDT

Hello,
Just wanted to let you know that I am deleting my ad because the service was
more than satisfactory and has introduced me to a man I want to give my full
attention to. Thank you and keep up the great work!
Lori

---

Subject: Robb and Kendra's Story
Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2000 22:10:14 -0500

Thank you, Steve, for helping me find my soul mate. Had it not been for VeggieDate, I would have never known that across
the country there existed the woman I knew I needed in my life but had just about given up hope of ever finding. When I came
to Kendra's ad I felt an immediate connection; it was as if she had written it with me in mind. Here was the vibrant, attractive
vegan woman for whom I'd been searching. I decided to overlook the geography that separated us and contacted her. Our
e-mail correspondence proved fruitful (veggie-ful?) and before long I was on a plane bound for Philadelphia.

Our meeting in person only strengthened my feeling that I'd done the right thing. A few days later I was sad to be leaving but
happy in the knowledge that we both were determined to be together in the near future. In June Kendra came out to L.A. and
we spent five fantastic days together. We were deeply in love. And the best is yet to come!

Thanks again for making these two vegans very happy as we look forward to our new lives together!
Robb (former ad #506)

As luck would have it (and another sign that this relationship was meant to be), my company is transferring me to their office in
northern California at the end of July. Robb and I will still be quite a distance apart, but significantly closer to each other than
we are now. Once he finishes his teaching duties this coming school year, he is planning on moving up to be with me. And since
good things come to those who wait, I can wait. Robb is truly the man of my dreams-- the attractive, adventurous, humorous
vegan man I was looking for. And I owe my finding him (or, as it was, his finding me) to you, Steve. Thank you for having the
ingenuity to create this site.

Kendra (former ad #1820)

---

Subject: Please Remove Me From Your Site
Date: 15 Jun 00 09:32:58 PDT
From: Laura

Dear VeggieDate Admin:

Please remove me from your site.
In addition, I no longer require this service because through VeggieDate I
have met a wonderful person who shares my interests and beliefs. We are
looking forward to many happy years together.

We live 5 minutes away from each other and attend the same church and
meditation groups. We even worked at the same company several years ago
-- but it took VeggieDate.com for us to finally meet!

Thanks for helping me meet my soulmate VeggieDate!
Laura

---

Subject: Re: VeggieDate comments about deleted ad
Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 21:48:05 EDT
From: K

Hello,
I love the website & would be happy to make a donation for
such a great cause!!!
As far as my ad, yes i did meet somebody but don't yet know if it is a
sucess,,,unfortunately we won't be able to meet in person till September -
will let you know if it is.

Do I send the donation to the address in California on the bottom of the
email you sent? To whom do I make the check out to?
Again, I'm very pleased with the results of my veggie ad, and I am also
interested in becoming a member - I just no longer wanted an ad is all.

Thank You,
Sincerely
K

---

Subject: Profile Question
Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000

Hi Steve,

I paid for a lifetime membership back in February. I
have a question for you:

Can I withdraw my ad for now and put it back in later
if I want? The reason I ask is that I've had enough
contacts for now (even despite the fact that I refused
to send a picture in! I had 100% return on all the
contacts I initiated in the first week, and have
gotten a steady stream since without me having to do a
thing). I have met someone that may turn out to be
long-term. So I also wanted to thank you and your
service!
Please let me know what the procedure is on this.

Thanks again,

---

Subject: our story
May 18th
another success story, thanks so much for your service. i have found my
match. if it wasn't for my placing an ad in veggie date, i probably would not
have found my lifemate. we are going to be married on oct 7th, 2000. wish U
could attend. You can now delete my listing.
most sincerely,
Patty

---

Subject: Thank you so much
Date: Tue, 9 May 2000
Dear VeggieDate

I want to thank you for bringing me together with Daniel McGovern (ad 3229)
He is everything I was looking for and more. Add us to your list of success stories.
Sincerely
Deborah Robinson (2995)

---

April 13th
VegMates.com has combined into VeggieDate!
I had one of the first vegetarian dating services online, VegMates.com.
After seeing how well of a system VeggieDate.com has, I decided it was time to join
them in making VeggieDate.com the best known and used vegetarian dating service
on the Internet. So, I took down VegMates.com and I am now promoting
VeggieDate.com on all our vegetarian websites (eatveg.com, Meat.org and
DiscountVegetarian.com) I'm already meeting some really great people through this service and I
believe in it and recommend it highly to anyone looking for vegetarian friends or a
vegetarian partner. -Rob Armstrong

---

Veggiedate is number 63 of top 100 as of April 12th

---

Subject: Re: VeggieDate comments about deleted ad
Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2000 16:33:49
Dear Veggie Date:
I was happy to find that there was a system online for vegitarians. It is a
wonderful idea! The reason I unposted my ad is because I found someone
special. Unfortunately it wasn't through Veggie Date. Sorry. Your website
is really cool and the ads are great. Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Marsha

---

Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2000 21:17:39 -0600
From: Robert
To: story@veggiedate.org
veggie date works!! :)
i really only placed an ad looking for a like-minded person to talk to,
but when i met chris i realized i had met my spiritual equal as well. i
live in chicago, he lives in ohio, but after our first meeting, we both
knew we had to be together. we've only known each other for a short
time, but both of us know there will be a move in the future. thank
you, veggie date. P.S -- the free trial offer is very generous, please
continue with that so others will have the same opportunity we did!

---

Date: Tue, 7 Mar 2000
From: Joe

Well I didn't know that this site was Magical ! You should've warned me !!
Even within the scope of Vegetarians, I have still always thought of myself
and My sincere values to be on the "fringe". So.........I Meet this
Beautiful Woman (Through Veggiedate of course) who respects my "Fringeness"
and I can't help but feel the Magic in it all. She's that amazing to me.
You racked up some seriously good strong Karma Points with this guy.
So with that....I had to delete my add. Well before I needed to pay you
for anything. You let me know what a reasonable donation to the cause
would be and you got it.
Thank you
Joe

---

24 Carrot Award - February Vegetarians in Paradise would like to bestow its 24 Carrot Award on environmental activist Steve Urow for his efforts on Green People, BioDemocracy and the Organic Consumer's Organization (formerly called Campaign for Food Safety), and VeggieDate. Zel and Reuben

---

Jan.
VeggieDate is rated in top 100 dating sites by Go2Net!
http://www.100hot.com/directory/lifestyles/dating.html

---

Sun, 13 Feb 2000
Dear gang,
only one word " Thanks" , in your great site I have found my soul mate,the real one,
it was such a great experience and when we finalize all the details we will send our story.
Dhyana and Robert.

---

Subject: Success story
Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2000 17:36:13 -0800
From: brett
Just wanted to add one more to the list of success stories. I too
posted an ad as a joke, because I was new to the Internet and wanted
some e-mail. I received a few replies from men who didn't seem my type,
but about 6 weeks after I posted the ad, a wonderful, sweet political
activist responded. We got to know each other via e-mail and phone,
then visited each other. It's been more than 6 months now, we enjoy
each other's company immensely, and we're relocating in 3.5 months so we
can live in the same city. What started as a goof-off has ended up
being the best relationship of my life -- what a nice surprise!
Veggiedate provides a great venue for like-minded people to meet each
other.

---

Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000
I am really glad you are providing this service. I can find hundreds of
personal ads in my area on AOL or Yahoo or a number of others, but I don't
seem to find anyone who has much in common with me. Here I find only a few
people in my region, but they all seem like they could be friends of mine!
Thank you.
Yours Truly,
Steve

---

Thu, 3 Feb 2000
Steve,
I removed my listing because I have begun a relationship with someone I met
through veggiedate. We haven't settled down, married, in a cookie-cutter
house yet, but I'm very happy and I guess I owe it all to veggiedate.
I will try to make a donation. Thanks.
-Nicolas

---

Subject: hi
Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2000 20:32:38 -0800
From: Marilin
To: userdel@veggiedate.com

I loved your service. I met a wonderful guy through it. Thanks for your help!
Marilin

---

Subject: Success Story.
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2000 03:57:27 -0800 (PST)
From: RICK
To: story@veggiedate.org
Hello,
I am writing you in regards to the oh so
wonderful site you guys have. I first heard about it
from a friend. I put an add on there as a joke because
I honestly never expected to get anything from it, my
add even seemed like it was a joke to me.Then about 2
weeks later I got a response, I was a lil' leary at
responding to it at first, but I figured what can it
hurt, I cuoldn't believe there was a vegan girl in
this small town of mine (as she couldn't believe a
vegan guy was in the ame town either). It turns out
this is most beautiful (in every sense of the word)
and fun person I have ever met in my life. Our first
date was September 1, 1999 and we have been together
ever since then. I have found the love of my life
thanks to you guys, I know for sure if I hadn't tried
it I would have never met her. Thank you so much for
your great service to the caring and compassionate
animal lovers of the world. Take care.
Sincerely,
Rick

---

Subject: It happened to me
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 10:49:58 -0500
From: Paul
To: story@veggiedate.com

Hello,
I just wanted to say that this is the first dating site where I even got
some sort of response. After placing an ad in other sites and never
once getting a person interested in me, this site produced four or five
contacts.

I met two of the contacts and both were very nice people.

My success story is about the one woman who contacted me. I saw her ad
but did not contemplate even sending her an e-mail because of the long
distance she lived. She lives in N.C. and I live in N.J.

Well, she took the chance and we talked via e-mail for approximately
three months. We finally met in October and she is now moving to Jersey
to be with me. Needless to say, we both pulled our ads and are looking
forward to living a long and happy life together.

I cannot tell you how great it feels to meet a like minded person. A
person that does not give me a weird look because of my dietary choices,
or my views on animals, or the way I live a simple, non materialistic
life.

What a great place. I still visit the site just to see and remind me
that their are other like minded people out there. Kudos to the
designers and originators of this site.

Safe Journeys All,
Paul

---

Subject: thank you!!!!!
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2000
From: Cindy
To: admin@veggiedate.com
Dear Veggie Date,
I cannot thank you enough for the service you have provided. Because
of you I am falling in love and have never been so happy in my life.
I will recommend veggiedate to every vegetarian I meet. Thanks again!
Cindy

---

Jan 12th, 2000
I found love on Veggiedate
Dear Steve,
I have been meaning to write you this e-mail for a while but haven't had the chance until now.
I met you at Fur Free Friday the day after Thanksgiving in Chicago and you were handing out
fliers for VeggieDate. I spoke with you briefly about how I found someone very special through
VeggieDate.

Around the middle of October '99 I received an veggiedate member contact message from a man by
the name of Paul living in CA. He wrote me out of the blue because it seemed
that the men that were contacting me were mostly in the Chicagoland area so I was surprised to
get something from someone in California! When I read Paul's profile I was very interested in
him and I wrote him back and we began corresponding by e-mail. We became really great friends
and we spoke on the phone a few times. It was wonderful to be able to get to know someone who
has compassion for animals and leads a vegan lifestyle. He ended up flying out to Chicago to
see me in early November and when we met it was love at first sight. After he flew back to
California we continued to talk on-line and on the telephone and our relationship grew even
more. Paul flew me out to California for the Holidays and we spent three wonderful weeks
together. I am back in Chicago now and we are making plans to be together on a more permanent basis.

I would like to thank you for VeggieDate.com because with out it I wouldn't have met Paul.
Thank you for finding a way that compassionate, caring people can connect!

---

Jan 7th
Hi:
Just to let you know, I have met some great people through this
service. I have been corresponding with someone special across
the US, and we will be meeting in 2 weeks. I cannot
think of a more perfect person for me to be with, I know this
is going to be a special relationship. Therefore, I really do not
want to renew my ad, there seems to be no point in looking further.
I want to thank everyone for this great site, and for helping me
find a very special person. I will keep everyone posted on
how it goes. Thanks again,
Laura

---

Jan 5th
I just wanted to let you know what a wonderful service you have
provided. I knew right away when I saw this guys ad that he was the one
for me (some wierd hunch). I wrote him and we talked on the phone
endlessly for over a month. I met him after a month and after our first
date we realized we never wanted to be apart we both took our ads right
off the veggie date and have been seeing each other since. I really
found my soul mate. What luck; it was the first person he met and the
only person I wrote to on here and we connected! (I was only on for
about 2 weeks) I am the luckiest girl in the world ! We have already
talked of marriage and it surely will happpen in the near future. What
Fate!!!! !!!!!
Thanks for everything.
Lisa.

---

VeggieDate was seen on Mon, Dec 20th on the 11:00pm News in Boston Channel 7 WHDH
and again on Tue Dec 21st at 12:30pm

---

Veggiedate.org has been mentioned in "The Complete Idiot's
Guide to Online Dating and Relating" (ISBN #: 0-7897-2169-4), just
published by Macmillan/Que. (Dec. 1999)
http://www.size-eight.com/book/online_dating_and_relating_boo.html
and scroll down to chapter one.

Although the book is primarily a guide for those who want to learn about
the various online venues to meet people, it also contains a great deal of
information on other fun sites these people might want to use, including
sites dealing with wedding planning, online flirting, self-help, astrology, and humor.

---

Sunday Dec 5th
please try to get some people (guys) in florida....
i actually met one of your members from the kendall area. had 2 dates with
him. a most enjoyable vegan type guy, hopefully we will see each other again,
U never know............Patty

---

Article in Salon Magazine
http://www.salonmagazine.com/tech/log/1999/10/29/veggie_dates/index.html
If link is bad click here.

---

Fri, 29 Oct 1999
I am in awe that someone came up with the brilliant idea to offer a way to
meet other vegetarians via the internet! This site is an amazing opportunity
to meet committed and conscious individuals throughout the world or next
door - which ever you prefer!! Friends, lovers, business partners and
spouses meet here! There is no doubt that what you put out will be responded
to in kind! I guarantee it! I have met some phenomenal people and it has
already changed my life and brought answers to some very specific prayers
through those I have met through Veggie Date. I am delighted by the
integrity of those whom I have conversed with. Whatever you are seeking you
are sure to find some wonderful and lasting connections through Veggie Date!
I have. Lotz of love, Sarah West

Much Joy to you Steve and bountiful prayers your way!! In Joy, Sarah
http://www.skyfamily.com/angelsawake
http://www.peacewithin.org
http://www.sarahwest.net
sarah@peacewithin.org

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Oct 14th 1999
Dear Steve and all of veggiedate people,
I want to thank you for your service- I really, really appreciate it. Yours
is the only place I have ever had the desire to put my ad up- every other
place is... well.. not exactly the type of people I'm looking for. So, here
is a phenomenal opportunity to meet like-minded veggies... and I have met
some of the most incredible people through your service. Though I haven't
found my soulmate yet, I have made some awesome friends, and I thank you for
that. You rock, keep up the good work!!!
Peace,
Karen

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