The CE7 are sponsoring a Diana and JB day (with a little help from our volunteers)! “To Diana and JB with all our love. We are so happy and thankful to share this day with you. Jamie, Foxie, Jody, Burrito, Missy, Annie, and Negra clapping happily.”
Best party in town
Don’t forget about the coolest party in Seattle tonight. Be there for the chimps and our friends at kwanchai, or be square!
Sponsor a day for JB and Diana
Today is being sponsored by our volunteers “for Diana and JB with best wishes and lots of thanks for giving us this special opportunity to share our love with our chimp friends and the wonderful community that’s happened all around them.”
And the staff at CSNW is especially grateful to our volunteers for making the community so great!
Today in memory of Frank and Olga Hansler
Frank and Olga’s daughter Gina Ash recently made a very generous donation to the chimps in her parents’ memory. On the anniversary of Frank and Olga’s wedding, I have to share their touching story with you.
When Olga died of cancer in August 2005, Gina was very worried about her dad. At 82, he had never done a load of laundry in his life. Though they were very social before Olga’s death (playing bingo or cards at the senior center most afternoons and evenings), Frank stayed home for the next six months. Gina tried her best to help her dad mourn and recover, and he slowly started going back to his favorite activities. He started making new friends and after a while started taking one particular new “lady friend” to bingo regularly. As Gina said, “He was like a high school kid; all of his phone calls resulted in laughing so hard it hurt!” On May 12, 2007 Frank was returning from his lady friend’s house and was killed in a head on car accident.
Gina wanted to do something meaningful with her share of her parents’ estate. Around the same time, she saw Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest on ABC World Nightly News, checked out our work and our website, and took it as a sign that the chimps could use Frank and Olga’s help. Frank and Olga were good people and proud parents – they didn’t have a lot of money but they shared what they could. Now, it’s Gina’s (and my!) turn to honor their givings. So, this day is for them!
Luau Day
A few weeks ago superstar volunteer Stephanie P. proclaimed today to be Luau day, and she wasn’t kidding! She showed up this morning with a car full of supplies! The chimps were besides themselves with excitement watching us set everything up. We had grass skirts, flower leis, pinatas, all kinds of drinks in fun cups, and snacks galore. What a fun day!
Chimps’ Choice and Adopt a Nerd
In April, our Chimps’ Choice item was cowboy boots. We now have a fantastic collection! Thanks to everyone who sent in gently used boots for Jamie. She clomped over to greet me this morning carrying one in her hand.
I just realized we only have a week to go in May, and we need a new Chimps’ Choice item. Since there’s only a week left, here’s something quick and easy that we are totally out of (once again). We need more protein powder for the chimps’ smoothies. It’s #4 on our Amazon list. We’ll send a special photo of someone having their morning smoothie to the first 10 people who help us restock our shelves. Thanks in advance!
And in other news, I’m unofficially launching a new way of helping us here at CSNW: “Adopt a Nerd.” I’m kicking it off with an invitation for someone to adopt Elizabeth, or more specifically, her feet. She needs new boots desperately – she’s walking around with tape covering the big gash in her left boot today! There is a replacement pair on our Amazon list (#1). Whoever sends them for her (quick!) will receive a thank you straight from Elizabeth. (UPDATE 8:00pm PT: Thank you Julie for adopting Elizabeth!)
We very affectionately refer to ourselves as chimp nerds (and I’m told that Dr. Suess coined the term), so I think it’s fitting to have an Adopt a Nerd program. We are very fortunate to have the most wonderful devoted fabulous nerds, ahem, staff who would do absolutely anything for the chimps. Elizabeth volunteered many many hours here before we had the budget to start paying her as a caregiver, and she is a treasured friend of the chimps. I can’t say how lucky CSNW and the chimps are to have both Elizabeth and Jackie. They are amazingly skilled and patient caregivers. I don’t know what the chimps (or I) would do without them. We also have a most wonderful devoted fabulous community of supporters via this blog. You have taught us that you too will do absolutely anything for the chimps! So I’m thinking this is a good way for someone to help us do our job better for the chimps. Or at least keep Elizabeth’s feet dry.
Don’t worry if you miss this chance – I’ll provide more opportunities to adopt Elizabeth, Jackie, and the rest of the nerds in upcoming months.
Thirty thousand and some exciting news!
Great news! With a little over a month left to go in our 2nd Anniversary Fundraising Drive, we’ve reached our first goal of $30,000! Yahoo! And here’s some even better news:
Karen and Don Young would like to help us reach our ultimate goal of $45,000, so that the chimps can enjoy three new cage-free windows in their playroom. So, from now until we reach the $45,000 mark, Karen and Don have generously offered to match every $2,500 raised. So let’s keep the momentum going and give the chimps a new view – only $7,500 left to go! Who wants to kick off the final push?
