That summer I volunteered at my local Dem office and worked for Kerry: phone banking, knocking on doors, the whole bit. I was on social media at the time, too--Kerry's blog, which was right before I found DU.
Anyway, was super disappointed when he didn't win, and, living in a very red county, just got discouraged about the whole thing. So I turned to somewhere else to make a difference.
I started volunteering at a local no-kill animal shelter at the front desk at first, and socializing cats and kittens. Then I began to photograph cats and kittens for their listings on the shelter's website. After a few years of that, I got a partner to work with and took a photography class, and we got some lights and a proper little cat photography studio set up, to make even better photos. I've also helped out at fund raising events doing all sorts of things.
In addition to photography, I have been fostering kittens and cats for going on four years and have helped over 60 of them get a good start in life, and go on to find nice homes!
My shelter is a community of like-minded people and a fun place to be. We're all dedicated to the welfare of the animals. We are no-kill, and against declawing.
So I have turned my wish to make the world a better place by focusing on this little corner of it. (That explains my signature line.)
I still am interested in politics but it is not what I "do" to make a difference (other than sometimes commenting on it here at DU!).
Best of luck to you! Hope you find something similarly rewarding! And please don't apologize for being a vegan. Just be one. I am also mostly vegan (sometimes vegetarian) and know where you are coming from. Just ignore people that hassle you about it. They should ignore what is on your plate, and you should ignore theirs. Lead by example. 
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