Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Diana

What Sanctuary Means to Negra

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Yesterday, we sent out a letter from Sarah to e-news subscribers about what sanctuary means for Negra and asking people to contribute to our anniversary fundraising. Share the letter by emailing it to friends, sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, etc. You can do all of that from the letter posted on our site here.

Be sure to sign up for our e-newsletter if you aren’t already. If you think you’ve signed up before and are still not receiving newsletters, email me.

The anniversary fundraising is off to a solid start. I’ve heard from a few more people with great fundraising ideas. I’m very excited! Margaret has already set up a Firstgiving page. She’s giving a card featuring a painting she has done of one of the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees for donations of just $30. Keep the ideas and support coming and together let’s give Negra a little more sunshine.

For all you Negra fans

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Another great greenhouse day. The ladies groomed and played out there all day, switching partners frequently.

Negra hanging out in the greenhouse sun:

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Missy grooming Negra while Annie groomed Jody nearby:

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Missy starting to turn the hand grooming into a little game:

web Negra Missy play hands outside playface greenhouse_MG_5920

Negra responding by playing back:

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Missy sticking both of her feet up for Negra to play bite:

web Negra Missy play bite feet outside greenhouse_MG_5924

Negra taking a mid-morning nap:

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It’s been said before, but each day I am amazed at how the greenhouse has transformed the Cle Elum Seven’s lives. Thank you again to Karen and Don Young and all who made the greenhouse possible!

just $35

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I was just about to update the banana and we’re $35 shy of $1000 in new donations towards our ultimate goal of raising $45,000 by June 13th. With the matching donation, that means almost $2,000 has been raised in three days! But, doesn’t it seem a shame to be $35 shy? Does anyone want to give that $35 before the end of the day? I’ll hold off updating the banana until 5:00 tonight. You can donate online or email and let me know you’re sending a check.

Thanks all for your generosity already! I heard from one supporter yesterday with a plan to raise between $750 and $1500. Keep those ideas coming! I can already picture Negra looking out those chimpanzee-proof windows.

Anniversary Fundraising Day One

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I swear that I just now came across the photo below, which we posted Oct. 27th when we replaced the cage door with the window.  It must be a sign that we picked the right day to start our anniversary fundraising!! Our ultimate goal is to raise $45,000 and replace three caged windows with chimp-proof glass. It seems that Foxie has known our plan all along…

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We’re off to a good start, thanks to Theresa, Gayle, Brandon, Pam and Marc, Jenny, and a pledge from Barbara! Today we raised $475. We need to raise an average of $512 per day to reach our ultimate goal of $45,000 by the chimpanzees’ second year anniversary in sanctuary and Negra’s birthday.  Get some ideas on how to help by visiting the Help Us Fundraise page. Thanks everyone!

P.S. Tomorrow – video of the chimpanzees celebrating St. Patrick’s Day!

Luck of the Cle Elum Seven

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Today, on Lucky St. Patrick’s Day, we are launching a big fundraising drive that will end on the chimpanzees’ 2nd anniversary in sanctuary and Negra’s honorary birthday – June 13, 2011. We’re announcing it to blog readers first so you can be the first to participate.

Thanks to LUSH and the blog drive initiated by Anna K., we will soon be replacing three caged windows with chimp-proof glass. We want to be able to replace three more for Negra and all of the Cle Elum Seven, but we need to make sure we cover our operating expenses first.

We do everything we can to keep our costs low, including making use of our incredible volunteer community and a great network of in-kind donations. This helps us spend 90 cents out of every dollar donated directly on our programs! The first $30,00 of the donations we receive over the next three months will go toward the day-to-day costs of caring for the chimpanzees, but we’d like to raise even more for some extra sunshine for the Cle Elum Seven. So, between today and June 13th, if we raise $35,000, we’ll replace one window, $40,000 two windows, and $45,000 three caged windows with chimpanzee-proof glass. You all know how much the chimps love the glass windows, so I know you’ll be motivated to help us reach our ultimate goal.

The first $4500 in donations will be matched by a pledge from our board of directors and staff, so we’re well on our way already! Perhaps blog readers can take on this initial challenge before we announce the fundraising to a wider audience next week. We are including income from all sources starting today – online, checks sent through the mail, facebook donations, money raised through Firstgiving, new Chimpanzee Pals, Sponsor-a-Day donations, etc. Even if you don’t have the funds to donate yourself, you can participate. Start a Firstgiving page and recruit others to donate – they are easy to set up and include fundraising tips when you sign up for your page. You could also have a fundraising dinner at your house, hold a garage sale, sell your wares on ebay, or do whatever is in your heart to raise funds for your chimpanzee friends. Let us know what you’re planning by emailing. We’d be happy to send you brochures or anything else you might need to share with others.

We will be awarding prizes to those who raise the most money, both through personal donations and through recruiting others to donate. We will provide regular updates on the blog, and you can also check out the progress and get more details on our Help Us Fundraise page.

Please join the fun in providing for the Cle Elum Seven and celebrating two years in sanctuary and give today!

Sippin’ thanks

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Perhaps it is appropriate that the Academy Awards aired just the other night. It’s interesting to get a feel for how many people are “behind” a person and/or a performance. The same goes for fundraising events! Here is our long list of people to thank for Saturday’s success:

Kristi Payne of Vintage Vine. She approached us last year about putting on a wine tasting to benefit the chimpanzees. We had only done small scale events before and didn’t have much experience with local, “formal” events. Kristi is the best partner we could hope to have – she’s good-humored, not easily flustered, hard-working and well-connected with wineries. She pulled together the event last year in just a few weeks. And this year’s was bigger and better. She’s the brains and much of the brawn behind Sippin’. Be sure to visit Vintage Vine in the new location, opening soon at 104 N 1st St in Roslyn.

Nichole Welch. Nichole is a student in the wine program at Central and is exploring her interest in planning wine events as a career. She was an event volunteer at Sippin’ last year and she was involved every step of the way this year. She brought her organizational skills and determination to have the volunteer portion of the evening run like a well-oiled machine. Thanks to Nichole, there were no big issues on event night – how many event planners can say that?

Poppoff, Inc. made a generous donation to sponsor Sippin’ for the Seven, 2010. Events are all about the return over the investment, and having a large cash donation meant that the overall profits increased before anyone even stepped through the door. Plus, the Poppoffs are just good folks. You may recall Matt Poppoff working in the rain in late October when we broke ground for the greenhouse construction. Even before that, Gay Dorsey (the alpha female of the Poppoff clan?) featured Jamie on her blog (how could she, after-all, have a blog about style and not mention Jamie?) The chimpanzees at CSNW have attracted some really amazing fans, and we’re all very grateful for all of the fans in the Poppoff family.

93.7 The Wind. Cle Elum is a small town and there is just one radio station. Luckily, it’s a good one. 93.7 The Wind plays classic hits that I wake up to it every morning. It’s one of the last family owned and operated broadcast stations in the state, and they support their local businesses and nonprofits. As in in-kind sponsor of Sippin’, the radio station supplied a very generous schedule of advertisements and attracted many local attendees who may have missed out on the event otherwise.

Inland Networks. Inland supplies telephone and internet service for Roslyn, WA and the surrounding areas, and they also own the Masonic Building where Sippin’ was held. They gave us a great deal on the space and allowed us to set up an entire day early, which meant those who helped with set-up could actually enjoy the event rather than feel the need to collapse from a day of moving tables around.

Participating wineries and breweries. They made the night what it was. It’s not just about the wine and beer poured, but about the expertise and friendliness of the pourers, many of whom were the actual wine makers. So, big thanks to: Cedergreen Cellars, Ironhorse Brewery,  Naches Heights Vineyard, Northwest Totem Cellars, Kestrel Vintners, Gamache Vintners, Waters Winery, The Bunnell Family Cellar, Knipprath Cellars, Fontaine Estates Winery, Gard Vintners, Goose Ridge Estates Vineyard and Winery, McKinley Springs, Smasne Cellars, Yakima Craft Brewing Company, Syncline Wine Cellars, Wells Winery, Waving Tree Vineyards and Winery, Mannina Cellars, O’Reilly, Fallobst, Ott and Murphy Wines by Swede Hill Cellars

Lenny Price. We were so lucky to have Lenny return this year to provide the ambiance for the evening. If you attended the event, you know that Lenny is a very talented saxophone player. He is also a composer and teacher with a very impressive resume.

Millie Radonovich. Setting the tone for the evening, Millie welcomed people to the event with her lively and always impassioned music. We are so happy she agreed to play again this year.

Ben Kulikowski of Chicago Foods, LLC. There’s a hot dog stand near Pioneer Coffee on the main drag through Cle Elum. That’s Ben’s.  He’s a professional chef with a big heart and actually thanked me repeatedly for contacting him about helping out, even though he donated all of his time and expertise to the food planning and prep. I think he has a future in vegan food catering, and I am still thinking about that tuscan white bean pate…

Frank Schuchman. Another talented local chef who helped Ben with the day-of food prep, despite feeling under-the-weather.

Field Roast Grain Meat.  I hit the food table too late to enjoy their sausage, which made me realize how much other’s must have enjoyed it! They gave a whole case of mixed sausages and I heard rave reviews from attendees. Field Roast is also a favorite of the chimpanzees.

Essencia Artisan Bakery. Chef Ben went all the way to Yakima to get all of the ingredients for the food. Yakima’s Essencia Artisan Bakery donated half of the bread used for the bruschetta bar and gave us a great deal on the other half.

Madalaine Welch. This year’s gorgeous Sippin’ posters, promotional cards, tickets, and wine tasting booklet cover were all designed by Madalaine Welch of Welch Graphic Design and Production (360-860-1103). She did this work free of charge while also going to school full time.

Tiffany Diamond. We are going to have some fantastic photos to share of the event thanks to Tiffany Diamond Photography (206-310-5435). We met Tiffany at last year’s event, she helped with our fall auction last year, and she was the official photographer for Sippin’ 2010. Can’t wait to share the pics!

Event volunteers. Wow. The volunteers were phenomenal, weren’t they? Pam Lehnert‘s always amazing, often edible decorations; the incredible troll headbands made by Rozsika Steele (which, I’ve been told we could sell for a pretty penny); the knitted bananas thanks to Andy Gray, Lisa Schuster and Sharon Loosmore, the entire clean up crew who whipped that place into shape in no time flat, and the many competent event volunteers at registration, the wine store, the food table, etc. etc. Each volunteer played a vital role in the success of the event. I hope I’m not leaving anyone out (now this is starting to sound like an acceptance speech): Lindsay Zagler, Ben Eckley, Jeani Goodrich, Rachel Haney, Joe Valenti, Joe Lorenz, Candie Ream, Roslyn Smith, Paige Berrigan, Spencer Williams, Ally Peters, Katie Ranier, Christina Broussard, Kristin Kittelson, Jarred Whelchel, Elissa Finkelstein, Alyssa Mehs, Johnathan Hill, Janine Brodine, Janen Korth, Colin Redmon, Grace Enlow, Caleb Payne, Jonine Collins, Marc Warner, Margie Ferguson, Debbie Metzler, Chelsea Gordon and Ryan Steele. You all rock.

There were several businesses/organizations that lent a hand, donated goods, or allowed us the use of their spaces. Sterling Savings Bank (use of the credit card machines), Dulces Latin Bistro (donated two cases of wine), Abbott’s Printing (always producing quality printing for a reasonable price), smith exhibits (our in-town ticket seller), Glodo’s (keeping things cool with their donation of ice), Cascade Rail Foundation (use of their kitchen space for food prep), 2R Bar and Bistro (lent us a chaffing dish), Chandler Reach Winery (incredible tour and tasting prize), Coffee Comfort Company (coffee for the evening), Salon 2120 (manicure and pedicure prize).

And, finally,  the attendees. You raised $7,200 for the chimpanzees, and I’m pretty sure you had some fun doing it. We hope you all come back next year!