Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

Katelyn

Today is for Brenda Radeke!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Julie and Karen Olson, in honor of their aunt, Brenda Radeke! Brenda was able to attend our visitation program this last summer and we are so happy to know she continues to follow the lives of the chimpanzees.

Julie and Karen, thank you so much for thinking of the chimpanzees in honoring Brenda! Having the support of all of you means so much to them (and to us!) and we are so grateful for your generous spirits. You truly make a difference in the chimpanzees’ lives!

Your support makes “play faces” an every day part of Burrito’s life in his sanctuary home:

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Today’s gifts of sanctuary

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This Christmas Day, we are thrilled to say, has been sponsored by so many amazingly generous people! FIVE to be exact!

Laurel Hecht has graciously chosen to make the lives of the chimpanzees better by sponsoring today, which also happens to be her birthday! We all wish the happiest of birthdays to you, Laurel, and thank you so much for your gift of sharing such a special day with the chimpanzees!

Kathleen Kemper sponsored today for Joanna Gabriel to wish her “Merry Christmas!” Kathleen shared that “Joanna has a deep love for the chimpanzees, and great admiration for their caregivers. She is so grateful that the chimps are living out their lives in such comfort after all they have been through.” Kathleen and Joanna, we are grateful for your kind words and all that you do to help the chimpanzees have the lives they deserve.

Molly Wiltshire sponsored today and shared this lovely note: “God bless you, the chimps, and the sanctuary.”

Michael Hamilton sponsored today in honor of Lucinda Almy-Hamilton and wishes her “Happy Christmas!”

And Janine Burr also sponsored today for which we are so very grateful!

We are humbled, inspired, and full of gratitude every single day by the generosity and compassion that exists in people. To each of you who sponsored this Christmas Day of sanctuary for the chimpanzees, we are immensely thankful to you for making a difference in their lives. From all of us here at CSNW, we wish you holidays filled with love, joy, peace, and comfort!

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And thank so much to all of you who have helped us toward our wish for 50 new Sponsor-a-Days for 2015 – we are only 8 days away from reaching our goal! It’s such a wonderful way to honor or remember friends and loved ones, or even yourself. If you haven’t already done so, please consider heading over to our Holiday Central page to check out all the ways you can help the chimpanzees while celebrating this special season.

Please know that we are so very grateful to each and every one of you for all you do, in so many ways, to ensure that every day is a day of sanctuary for these seven amazing beings.

The Christmas festivities are getting underway so be sure to check back later today and celebrate with us!

A Season of gratitude (and parties!)

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The chimpanzees (and humans!) of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest have the best friends and neighbors! People far and wide love these chimpanzees and do so many amazing things to ensure their well-being and the forever home they deserve. It’s an honor and a gift to witness this every single day and we are immensely grateful.

The sanctuary is located a few miles outside the small, eastern Washington town of Cle Elum. This year our local Umpqua Bank sponsored a Giving Tree for the chimpanzees and ARRF Animal Rescue! The bank staff including Jamie, Patti, Brenda, Danielle, and Seka put so much time and effort into organizing this, from creating ornaments for each of the chimpanzees listing chosen gifts on the back to spreading the word about the sanctuary:

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And did our local friends and neighbors ever come through!

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So if you know us and the chimpanzees, you know we had to start celebrating the holidays with a Christmas Eve party! All of the chimpanzees were enjoying time in the greenhouse this morning, unaware of the party preparation, except for the ever clever Jamie. She knew something was going on and even skipped her usual mid-morning nap, choosing instead to supervise things while playing upside-down-Jamie-on-a-barrel, which in caregiver lingo translates to “Jamie’s happy!”

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Caregiver Debbie graciously served as our Christmas Eve elf extraordinaire and made the chimpanzees hot cocoa (with almond milk and unsweetened cocoa powder), put our snow cone machine in overdrive (since we are still waiting on our winter snow here), and prepped the party decor (thanks to Jayne R. and Lisa S.!). Here are volunteer caregiver, Lizz, and our elf, Debbie, setting up (and yes, we have as much, if not more fun, than the chimpanzees!):

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No holiday party is complete without the holiday trolls:

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Burrito was the first one into the play room where he decided to enjoy the cocoa with the trolls:

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This giant present held a new pair of boots for Jamie:

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Annie opening party favors filled with peanuts:

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Missy enjoying snow cones in a Santa boot mug:

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Jody foraging through her stash of holiday treats:

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Jamie, of course, had collected numerous cups of cocoa to enjoy:

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(Unfortunately, no photographic evidence exists of this, but Foxie and one of the holiday trolls spent their time slurping up snow cones and Negra took her stash to enjoy in the comfort of her nest).

Cle Elum friends and neighbors, we can’t thank you enough for welcoming the chimpanzees into your neighborhood and for your generosity and compassion, not only on this holiday, but all year long. We are truly thankful for your support! And thanks again to Gary and Jan Scott for sponsoring today in honor of our neighbors, Jack and Sue Dignum!

We’ve received so many genuinely thoughtful gifts and good tidings this holiday season it would be impossible to list them all, but here is just a glimpse of the love, creativity and inspiration we’ve been gifted with:

Adorable, hand-made ornaments for the chimpanzees from Claudia H.:

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So many wonderful holiday wishes and kind words from our amazing supporters:

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This amazingly beautiful Advent calendar created by Kathleen C! (It’s taking all my willpower not to walk over and sneak a peek at the 25th right now):

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Please know we are incredibly thankful to each and every one of you who have not only graciously made the chimpanzees’ holiday special, but most importantly, have made a difference in their lives. As I type this, the chimpanzees’ just finished a popcorn forage after a dinner of lentils and roasted squash. With bellies full of healthy food, they are safely asleep in their nests, resting in the comfort of their sanctuary home this Christmas Eve. Each of you through your thoughts, donations, in-kind gifts, and sharing what you know of the chimps with others have made this possible for them. I can think of no more meaningful gift and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. From all of the primates here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we wish you a magical Christmas Eve and holiday season filled with the love, comfort and compassion you so graciously share with us.

And if you haven’t done so already, please check out Holiday Central if you’d like to see how you can celebrate the holidays and help the sanctuary at the same time! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the chimpanzees’ Christmas celebration! Until then, I leave you with a poem sent by another friend of the chimpanzees, Regina Lagrasta:

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Today is for Jack and Sue Dignum!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Gary and Jan Scott in honor of Jack and Sue Dignum with the following message: “Merry Christmas! Thanks for introducing us to so many animals this year!”

Jack and Sue are amazing friends and supporters of the chimpanzees (and the humans!) and we are so grateful to have them as part of our chimpanzee family. They do so much to advocate for the animals we are so fortunate to share this planet with.

Gary and Jan, thank you so much for honoring Jack and Sue by making a difference in the lives of the chimpanzees! We are thrilled to know the chimpanzees have even more wonderful friends.

From all of the primates here at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, we wish you all a Christmas Eve and year ahead filled with the love, kindness, and compassion that you so graciously share with others.

Jack and Sue’s buddy, Burrito:

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Be sure to tune in later today for the beginning of the holiday celebrations for the chimpanzees!

Today is for Sam Simon

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Tracy Dunham in honor of Sam Simon! Tracy would like to share the following note for Sam: “Merry Christmas Sam Simon. On behalf of all the animals who have a better life because of you.”

As many of you may know, Sam Simon is an acclaimed writer, producer and director, and famously co-produced “The Simpsons.” Sam was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2012 and since that time he has poured his heart and soul into philanthropy, choosing to donate the majority of his earnings to animal welfare and fighting hunger, among other causes. He also founded The Sam Simon Foundation which rescues dogs from shelters and trains them to provide assistance to veterans and hearing impaired individuals, enhancing the lives of both dogs and humans.

In a recent interview with NBC News, Sam shared, ” I think that my passion for the animals and against animal abuse is based on the knowledge that these creatures who feel and think can’t speak for themselves and they’re dependent on us for that. And so I feel it’s my responsibility to speak for those that can’t speak for themselves.”

Tracy, thank you so much for giving the chimpanzees a special day in honor of such a special human. And Sam, if you happen to read this, we cannot thank you enough for being the inspiring and special soul you are and for all you do to give so many other beings the lives they deserve. Thank you for making the world a better place.

Jamie, chimpanzee woman extraordinaire:

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You too can sponsor a day of sanctuary for someone you admire, adore, or want to celebrate (this includes sponsoring a day for yourself!). We’re so close to reaching our goal of 50 new sponsored days by the end of 2015. Learn more about the sponsor-a-day program or make a sponsor-a-day donation now.

Happy Birthday, Janice!

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Today’s day of sanctuary was sponsored by Janice Clayton! Today also happens to be Janice’s birthday and she shared that she felt there was no better way to celebrate!

Janice, thank you so much for choosing to give the gift of sanctuary to the chimpanzees on your own special day. Celebrating your life by making a difference in theirs is an incredibly kind thing to do. From all of the primates here at CSNW, thank you! We wish you the happiest of birthdays!!

Here’s Jody enjoying bamboo she harvested herself.  A seemingly simple thing, but look at the joy in her face! Your support makes that possible and we couldn’t be more grateful.

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The ladies of mystery

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The ladies of mystery…Annie, Jody, and Missy. We always intend to share the lives of each of the chimpanzees equally on the blog. But some of the chimpanzees have different feelings about being the subject in front of the camera (just like we do) and we always want to respect that and never invade their personal space uninvited.

If you’ve been following the blog for awhile you’ve probably seen that Missy (often with Annie right behind her) is always on the go and rarely sits still long enough to photograph. And Jody, who loves to relax in luxurious nests, is often tucked away just out of sight of the humans, especially in the winter time. But then, all of this speaks to the beauty of their lives in sanctuary. They always have a choice.

So while today two of the ladies of mystery still remain a mystery, I was able to recently capture one of them, the beautiful Annie:

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