This week is National Volunteer Appreciation week and I’m finding that there are not enough words to express how much our volunteers mean to us.
As the pandemic hit in March of 2020, we made the extremely tough decision to limit the numbers of humans that we had coming to the sanctuary in order to help protect the chimpanzees. This meant we had to lay off the bulk of our extremely valuable volunteer and intern workforce. While only a few volunteers were able to adapt to our strict protocols and qualifications, others found different ways to help at a distance. They filled bags of primate chow from home,collected enrichment and helped plan fundraising events. Their creativity and resourcefulness has been astounding!
Now, 2 years later, we are still working with a limited (although slightly larger) group of volunteers. Our COVID protocols have adjusted over time, but our resources (high quality masks and rapid tests) remain limited, so we currently have an active group of only 6 volunteer caregivers. While there are still many of our loving volunteers on hiatus through no fault of their own, we wanted to specifically recognize the very hard work and dedication of our current “Level 3” caregivers.
Please join me in thanking Patti, Lisa, Elizabeth, Keri, Lizz and Krissy for all their hard work during this ongoing pandemic. We seriously couldn’t have done it without you and we can’t wait for the day when we can welcome more volunteers back to the sanctuary!
Besides hard working, our volunteers can also be elusive to photograph, so we have a mixture of old and new photos of them.
Patti cleaning the front rooms:
Lisa and Foxie:
A 2015 throwback photo of Keri and Jamie:
Elizabeth and Honey B:
Krissy disinfecting the front rooms:
Lizz grooming Jamie:
Thank you for all you do. Blessings to you all. :purple_heart:
thanks to all the hard workers…..volunteer usually means no dinero for hard work……the appreciation is the smile on the faces of the chimps when you hand out their treats……………
You all are recognized for the magnitude of love& care given every day to keep the chimpanzee’s healthy & safe.
After reading about 5 out of 6 tigers in San Diego Safari getting Covid & birds with Avian flu, you have my deepest respect and thanks to Patti,Lisa,Keri,Lizz, Elizabeth & the volunteer-Krissy, with the best looking boots -Awesomeness!!
Stay safe & thank you again.
Yes, Anna….a VERY big thank you to all the volunteers both at the sanctuary and at home who make the forever lives of the chimpanzees so good. It must be very rewarding to know that your contribution is appreciated but even so, it’s hard work and not always glamorous! Well done everyone.
A huge thank you to all of you.
And Lisa, if I’m not mistaken, you never stopped, you were there every step of the way! An extra special thanks to you!
:clap::clap:
It’s people like you that give us reassurance that there is still kindness and love in this world. Thank you!
All through this pandemic your day to day operations seem to buzz along as if everything was just “business as usual”. I have been amazed at how easy you make it look! Even with six new chimpanzees in your care and more buildings to clean and maintain. I imagine the staff never sleeping, working around the clock, trying to accomplish all you need to do in a single day, every day, and then working hard to coordinate introductions on top of it all. How do you do it?! Well now I better understand the answer to that question. Six incredibly devoted volunteers (some of them past caregivers!) are there to help you through this very difficult time. Lucky you. Lucky chimps.
Thanks for the photos Anna. And I want to personally send a BIG “Thank You!” to Patti, Lisa, Elizabeth, Keri, Lizz and Krissy. Thank you for placing the chimpanzees above your daily priorities. Your time, experience, friendships, and super big hearts, make the sanctuary a true home.
I had no idea you had this many people working behind the scenes, both in the chimp houses and from other locations. I wish I was closer, I’d love to come and help youl. Thank you all.
“We can be heroes…” — D. Bowie. I am heartened to read that Foxie and Honey B have some old friends (and that Lucky’s troop has new friends) who volunteer their time and efforts to care for them and, in Burrito’s case, elicit his laughter.
Thank you for being able to step up and be caregivers. Your hard work and dedication went far and beyond what everyone thought would happen in 2020. You are truly the Angels of the Sanctuary.
i love how truly clean and well organized this place is. the chimps looks very well cleaned and their fur looks beautifully clean and groomed. and that tells a lot about how much they care about the chimps and other animals. a outstanding job they are doing.