Who Will Tell the Stories of Animals Who Suffer on Factory Farms?

To fix this, we will need more of us to shine a light on the abuses in our broken food system. That’s why The Humane League and Sentient Media—two organizations at the forefront of exposing and ending animal abuse worldwide—are partnering to offer you the opportunity to join the next generation of influential storytellers.

If you believe in the power of writing, exposing the truth, and want to change the world for animals, we invite you to join the Changemaker Writers’ Collective.

Who’s behind the Changemaker Writers’ Collective?

At The Humane League, we use hard hitting campaigns to expose the truth, sharing facts and stories to inform the public about issues like the practice of boiling birds alive, cramming birds into cruel cages, and other horrors. And we propose changes to the system that are incremental and powerful; changes that are currently improving the lives of millions of animals with the potential to help billions more.

At Sentient Media, we seek to create transparency around the use of animals in our daily lives—from food to companionship to laboratory test subjects. We specialize in reporting, training programs for emerging writers, partnerships with multiple news outlets, and strategic digital marketing. We bring fact-led information about farmed animals’ lives to the first page of Google. Everything that we do is designed to encourage people to question the corruption within industrial animal agriculture. Read more in this Letter From Our Founder and meet the team in our “About Sentient Media” video.

Here’s what others are saying

Together, we launched the program and welcomed the first cohort in July 2021. We’ve received a lot of wonderful feedback from Changemakers, just like you, who went through the program.

"I really appreciated the courses and all the resources they offered. Each module was really rich in examples and reference content and that's always great to have on hand. I also appreciated the opportunities to interact with so many writers in the animal rights field. Even simply hearing about their work and careers through the course modules was really interesting and provided some great context to how you can establish a writing profession in line with your principles.” —Mansha K

“What I valued the most was the feeling that I would be supported by the animal advocacy journalists no matter what topics I chose to write about. I learned how to channel my compassionate yet encouraging tone to inform people from all walks of life to advance their perspectives on farmed animals and feel inspired to write their own stories.” —NiNi Vo

“I am really enjoying, learning, and growing from the experience. I have daily interactions with intelligent, plugged-in people who care about animals and saving the planet. I also have a lot of access to great articles from publications that I had not been aware existed, that I have since made part of my regular reading material. I feel myself growing stronger as a writer, also. I now have the goal of crossing the threshold beyond Letters to the Editor, and someday having a story or article published. If you are an aspiring writer, JUST DO IT!“ —Cathleen H

“The program is brilliant. I always wanted to write but lacked the confidence and knowledge to formally do it. This opportunity provided me with the tools and training to achieve this. The additional support, webinars, and resources are excellent and also available after the completion of the program. It also helps to expand your view by attending several interview events and presentations of writers and animal advocate guests. Their stories are testimonies of how much speaking up for the unheard is needed.” —Sandra S

Powerful stories can change lives

Social change does not happen without raising awareness and inspiring action. It’s essential to draw media attention to important issues that are traditionally missing from the public dialogue if we hope to challenge the status quo and advocate for change. Storytelling is a powerful tool used by many social justice movements.

We’ve both seen the power of storytelling firsthand.

For Michelle, The Humane League’s SVP of Programs and Development, as it relates to LGBTQ+ rights: As a lesbian, I have shared my story many times over the years to help build understanding and advocate for basic human rights. My family and friends did not know that I could be fired from a job or kicked out of my housing, just because of who I loved. They didn’t know that if my partner was hospitalized, I could be denied access. They did not know that depending on where we lived, we couldn’t be legally married and that my partner’s rights as a parent could be taken away, just because she was not our son’s birth mother. Everytime I told my story, I helped tell the story of the people behind those oppressive laws. I wrote about my story on social media and shared it with news outlets. And many people like me did the same. That work is ongoing but over the years, we changed hearts and minds and we changed the laws.

For Kami, Sentient Media's Program Director, as it relates to racial justice: Your token Black vegan gal doesn’t represent all of the other Black people across the country, but she did have to jump over the barriers of entry for a lifestyle that costs trips to grocery stores outside of her neighborhood. She did budget her 63% slice of wage gap income to figure out how to make guilt free southern dishes. She does understand that making the right choice is easier to do with a community that you feel represented in. In order to combat tokenism, support access, and create systemic change in our communities, we’re excited to be working with The Humane League to build training programs with diversity, equity, and inclusion at their core and to empower their volunteers with leadership and advocacy writing skills to help create more comfortable spaces for underrepresented folks in the animal advocacy community.

We believe diverse voices will change the world for animals

The Changemaker Writers’ Collective, powered by Sentient Media, aims to recruit and train a diverse group of emerging writers and storytellers to be catalysts for change for animals in their communities and beyond. The program will provide advanced training for a diverse group of writers, to build a supportive community and network of mentors for emerging writers, and expand the reach of The Humane League’s animal welfare campaigns through media coverage, increasing pressure on companies to end the worst abuses on factory farms.

This new program is part of the broader Sentient Media Writers' Collective, which currently serves almost 200 advocate writers from over 30 countries—45% are people of the Global Majority, and 70% identity as female or non-binary. This is an inclusive space, built by a diverse team.

The Writers’ Collective brings together mentors, editors, and digital strategists to help emerging writers and advocates build better stories. Once Changemakers have completed the initial training, they will be able to remain part of the broader writers collective community for peer-editing and more events. This is a self-paced, online course, with an estimated time investment of 4-7 hours per week for 8-12 weeks—after which you’ll have developed media and writing skills to be a fierce advocate for animals. Future lessons and course material will also be available to all participants as they are published. Stipends of $100 per month for up to 3 months will be offered for all participants and the training will be offered free of charge.

Emerging writers from diverse backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply. The animal rights movement has a long way to go to make sure that we are including the crucial voices of Black, Indigenous, and People of the Global Majority in leadership. And this new program aims to be a meaningful pathway for a diverse group of activists to lead through storytelling and writing.

Interested? Here’s how to apply:

Applications are now open to confirmed volunteers of The Humane League living in the US who wish to begin the program on February 1st. Application deadline is January 15!

If you aren’t yet a confirmed volunteer with The Humane League, you’ll first need to sign up as a volunteer. After you’ve attended orientation, your field organizer can hook you up with an application for the Changemaker Writers’ Collective.

Need more details? Here’s everything you need to know.