Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Archives for November 13, 2013

The inimitable Jamie

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Just as humans do, each of the chimpanzees has their own unique personality. And Jamie’s is like a kaleidoscope. She surprises us every day with her strength, beauty, intelligence, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and sheer, well, Jamie-ness. Jamie was my first chimpanzee friend and as such she holds a special place in my heart. While she can be demanding and intense in her relationships with both humans and chimpanzees, she can also be joyful, caring, and so much fun to hang out with. But one thing that Jamie consistently is, is a privilege to know, and an honor to call my friend.

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As Diana mentioned earlier today, it takes a virtual village to care for these seven amazing beings and we are so thankful to all of you who help provide them with the sanctuary they deserve. While this next photo of Jamie was previously posted, it’s one of my favorites and I feel, catches that inimitable spirit of hers. It also reminds me, as does Jamie, of one of my favorite quotes by Federico Fellini, “You have to live spherically – in many directions. Never lose your childish enthusiasm – and things will come your way.” Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for enabling things to come Jamie’s (and all of the chimpanzees’) way.

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Thank you for getting us to our goal!

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Yesterday was a bit of a roller coaster. At one point in the afternoon, we thought we had exceeded our goal in the Biddin’ for the Seven online auction, but then we received notice that someone had mistakenly made a large guaranteed bid on an item. We corrected the mistake and watched several thousand dollars disappear from the fundraising thermometer.

We were down to the last several minutes of the auction and still had some money to raise to reach the goal. But you pulled out all the stops, and we ended up going over our goal with a total of $12,757 in bids and Sustain the Sanctuary donation pledges!

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Thank you so very much to those who participated in the auction! I’ll be sending off auction items to winning bidders in the next several days, and will be excited to hear how you like your new stuff! If you have any questions about paying your invoice, don’t hesitate to contact me: [email protected].

It’s kind of funny that I was so wrapped up in watching that fundraising thermometer – $12,000 was somewhat of an arbitrary number. It sure did feel great to reach and then exceed that goal, though! It’s not, of course, all we need to end the year strong, so we’ll be doing some end-of-year fundraising and we hope you’ll sign up for our Chimpanzee Pal program or make a general donation.

It truly does take a virtual village to run a chimpanzee sanctuary, and Burrito, Negra, Jody, Jamie, Missy, Foxie, and Annie rely on their virtual family out there in the world to keep them comfortable, well-fed, healthy, and happy. The photos and videos on this blog are a testament to what donations to sanctuaries can provide, and we can’t thank you enough for taking part in giving the chimpanzees the second chance they so deserve.

Right now there is another way that you can help Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest as well as two other animal sanctuaries. Herbivore Clothing Company is spearheading a 10% for sanctuaries week, with lots of businesses participating. Take a look at the list of companies that are participating, and start shopping or make a donation here. Big thanks to Tofurky / Turtle Island Foods and Chicago Vegan Foods for kick-starting the donations!

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And if you’re still in the bidding mood, there’s still time to bid on Jamie’s painting (or any of the great paintings) in the HSUS Chimpanzee Art  Auction, with proceeds going to the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance.

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