Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

donations

Big Day to GiveBig!

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Have you heard the news?

Cy looking at a magazine while George (and Lucky who is behind Cy’s magazine) interact with caregiver Katelyn and some guests.

Today is the last day for GiveBIG! GiveBIG is an annual fundraising event here in Washington State when individuals and organizations invest their community by donating to their local Washington-based nonprofit. At the time of this writing, we are currently hovering around 75% of our $50,000 goal! We are so close! But there is still time! Donors have until midnight (PST) to donate to their favorite nonprofit.

I know that $50,000 seems like an impossible task, but every little bit we receive gets us closer to our goal. Donations directly help the caregivers provide the upmost care to the chimpanzees and cattle. Your donations help pay for things such as food, puzzles, treats, care medical, new enrichment toys, parties for the chimps (George’s 1 year CSNW anniversary is coming up!), the support building for the staff to diligently work in, and so much more!

We need your support now more than ever. As mentioned before, we are going to celebrate George’s 1 year anniversary here. That entire time felt like a flurry of activity that it feels like a blur. It was almost like one day we had 15 chimps and BAM! Sixteen chimpanzees were now residing at the sanctuary. Since that time it has been such a heartwarming thrill watching George settle into no only his new home, but also new family! I still get a little teary-eyed when watching him on the Bray with Cy, Gordo, Rayne, Terry, and Lucky. Just knowing just under a year ago, George was living by himself in a concrete and chain-linked fence. Now George is thriving enjoy his time outdoors or spending it playing or being groomed by one of the other chimpanzees.

Cy and George watching their neighbors during breakfast this morning.

We are also now caring for a chimp with mobility issues. With some slight modifications to some of the enclosures, Negra has been able to move from one area to the other albeit with some issues. She’s able to move around a lot more thanks to some handlebars and firehose, but we feel there is more we can (and probably will) do to help Negra enjoy her favorites spots around the sanctuary. Not to mention the medications she is on to help her continue to enjoy her sanctuary life. Be sure to read this compelling, heartfelt blog Kelsi wrote about Negra a few weeks ago.

Negra drinking from a portable water source installed in one of her front rooms for easier water access.

Please consider donating to our GiveBIG campaign to help us reach our goal and help us provide the best care we can for 16 chimpanzees and 3 cows.

Gordo on the Bray before breakfast.
Lucky taking in this morning’s lovely weather.
Fabulous Foxie with remnants of today’s lunch
Oh! And Bruce! Help us support Brucey!

 

New Appliances!

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Yesterday we welcomed two gifts that we received from the combined efforts of many donors during our Comfort and Joy Auction… A new dryer and a frost-free freezer! This is a thrilling gift for the staff and volunteers and makes our work that much easier! Stay tuned this month as we will be continuing to highlight our Comfort and Joy donors and the items they generously purchased for the sanctuary.

Volunteer Dusty models our newest appliances:

Clean and dry blankets bring so much comfort to the chimps!

Negra:

Dora:

Ice treats are a hit, no matter the time of year!

Terry:

Annie:

 

 

Special thanks to:

Cheney C., Ellen G., Kathie J., Kathleen K., Carrie M., Aprile P., Lorna P., Jamie R., Patti S., and Karen W.

For buying the dryer!

 

Rosalie A., Ellen G., Carrie M. Julie O., Julia O., Aprile P. and Patti S.

For buying the Freezer!

 

 

 

On the Sixth Day of Christmas…

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On the sixth day of Christmas

Donor Linda gave to me

New People magazines!

– Cy Chimpanzee, probably

We send our most heartfelt gratitude and warmest wishes to our supporters who have donated to the chimpanzees through the Comfort & Joy online auction! You can go directly to the event’s web page to see the numerous items that were purchased by our community on behalf of the chimpanzees who call the sanctuary home.

You’ve probably seen some of the earliest gifts unveiled on the blog recently, from Squishmallows On the First Day of Christmas to a Negra-themed blanket On the Fifth. Today’s surprise is another unconventional enrichment item, intended to excite one quirky individual in particular. Without further ado, we extend a special thank you to:

Linda M. for donating the subscription to People magazine (addressed to Cy Chimpanzee)

Indeed, the sanctuary’s biggest bookworm will now have a steady supply of celebrity gossip and pop culture trivia to entertain him when he needs a moment of peace apart from his companions. Today, Enrichment Coordinator Chad delivered the latest edition of People directly to Cy’s “mailbox” (a gap under the caging of the Marmot Mountain playroom). You can check out the included video to see how Cy reacted to the holiday surprise!

On the Second Day of Christmas…

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Today is the second day of the Twelve Days of Christmas! Each day we will be highlighting the items that were bid on during our recent Comfort & Joy online auction. Be sure to check out yesterday’s Squishmallow Extravaganza! On the second day of Christmas we wanted to feature the Giant Kongs and the fabulous Dora eating corn blanket.

Special thank you to:

Ellen G. for donating the Dora Blanket

Anne M. for donating the Giant Kongs

Giving Days and Days of Gifts

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Today’s theme: gifts, giving, and gifts given.

Before we get to today’s update, though, I want to remind everyone that Giving Day for Apes is this Tuesday! It’s not too late to set up your own fundraising page via the sanctuary’s Giving Day for Apes page (just click on the big “Fundraise” button to get started). To see pages that others have created, scroll down on our page and look under “Campaigns supporting this organization.” All donations made on any of those campaigns will go directly to the sanctuary and will be eligible for the cash prizes offered!

Of course, the special fundraisers aren’t the only times that our supporters make generous gifts to the sanctuary.

Earlier today, we posted the following message:

Mary Horton sponsored this special day of sanctuary for her mom and long-time friend of the chimpanzees, Vicki Fagerlee… Vicki, you make a lasting difference in the chimpanzees’ and cattle’s lives, helping us ensure their joy, well-being and comfort for all their days forward. We’re so grateful to have you as part of our chimp and bovine family. Happy Birthday, from all of us here at the sanctuary!

It may have been Vicki’s birthday today, but she has been the one buying gifts for the sanctuary lately. Last week, we received notice that someone purchased a new mirrorless digital camera from our Amazon Wish List. Shortly after, the device arrived at our front gate with all the accessories we need to keep taking photos for the blog. The new Canon RP is much newer, lighter, and versatile than the donated Canon Rebels we have been using, and it has many new features that we have yet to master. Today, I spent some time to tinker with the auto-focus settings, low-light capabilities, and preset modes, but it definitely feels like learning to take photographs all over again. This technology has advanced quite far over the last ten years, so we appreciate that Vicki is helping us to stay current. I can’t wait to see what content we can create with this generous gift, and I really can’t wait to share the final products with you all.

Annie
Foxie and Missy
Jody and Foxie
Burrito
Burrito

P.S. Even the newest cameras have a difficult time focusing on Burrito’s face when he plays chase and tickle like an absolute maniac. In this case, I think I focused on his tiny white nose hairs. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Adorable Burrito and NEW STUFF

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First, adorable Burrito – a photo taken tonight at dinner with our fab new camera:

Burrito eating a pear

Now for the new stuff! I was away for a few days to spend the x-mas holiday with family, and when I returned, the chimp house had been transformed! Thanks to everyone who got us the new stuff off of our amazon.com wishlist!!

J.B. picked me up at the airport in Seattle yesterday and we went to a store to purchase the new computer. After consulting everyone who had donated towards our new and improved technology (Candy Crannell, Kathy B., Gayle, Leslie, Barb in Ohio, Theresa, Catherine M., Jeani, Pam and Sue), we decided to go with a desktop. It was less expensive than the laptops, and we managed to get an even better deal on it at the store. So, we also purchased a much needed printer (ours broke about a week ago) and a large memory card for our new camera. Check out the snazzy looking office space in the chimp house now! Photos and videos look AMAZING on that big screen and the printer works like a champ.

new imac, printer, camera

Here are the other great gifts we received from generous supporters that have improved our days in the chimp house. We so appreciate your support and your response to my Holiday Wishes post about the things we needed.

Boot dryer for Jamie’s collection of boots:

boot dryer

Stainless steel bowls for produce:

bowl

Ergonomic kitchen mat for volunteers and staff working at the sink:

kitchen mat

Coffee maker for volunteers and staff. A welcome return to caffeine!

new coffee maker

New foot bath mat – no more tripping over the old pan and bleaching our pants.

foot bath mat

Much needed hand-soap. Isn’t this a nice, artistic shot? It was also taken with our new camera.

hand soap

We also received new memory cards for the cameras, which helped us to post this. And new blankets for the chimps (my favorite is a chili pepper blanket). And some awesome crayons for the chimps.

Wow, huh? We are pretty lucky to have such generous and thoughtful Santas among our supporters. We’re off to a great New Year already!

Guidelines for Gifts

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The chimps have such a wonderful family of supporters. Every week, we receive packages of food and enrichment from people all across the country. We rely on these gifts to keep the cupboards stocked and the enrichment bins full, which in turn helps keep the chimps happy. To ensure that we are able to use all of your generous donations, I’d like to share our health and safety guidelines for food and enrichment.

If you follow the blog, you know that we serve a wide variety of food to the chimps. But for their health and safety, we follow these food rules:

  • No added sugar – We limit the sugar in the chimps’ diet to sugar from natural sources such as whole fruit. Captive chimpanzees are at significant risk for diet-related illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. We’ve found that with enough variety, chimpanzees will continue to get excited about healthy food, so we’re confident that they don’t feel deprived. When we do give foods that are sweetened, they’re generally used to deliver medication (Gatorade is a favorite). If you do send food, check the ingredients label – you’d be amazed at the things they add sugar to (like dried fruit! Why?).
  • No salt – There is a relationship between sodium and heart disease in humans, and the same is thought to hold true for chimpanzees. Therefore, to be on the safe side, we limit the amount of salt in their diet.
  • No mangoes – Mangoes are great for chimps in general, but we have reason to believe that Annie is allergic to them.
  • No meat, dairy, or eggs – The chimps at CSNW get plenty of protein from nuts, seeds, beans, and primate chow.
  • Limited processed food – The chimps do get treats like bread from time to time, but we try to stick to whole foods as much as possible.
  • Nothing prepared outside of the chimp house kitchen – Because we can never be 100% sure of the ingredients or the conditions in which foods are prepared, we don’t give the chimps any homemade foods (e.g. baked goods, trail mix, etc.).

Variety is just as important when it comes to enrichment. We try to give them a little bit of everything, but for their safety, we follow these guidelines:

  • No glass
  • No metal or sharp edges
  • No batteries or battery operated toys
  • No soft/flexible rubber, latex, soft/thin plastic, or styrofoam – Some captive chimpanzees have an unfortunate habit of chewing on inappropriate materials. This behavior can lead to a bowel obstruction if the material is swallowed. So to be safe, we don’t give out any of these materials.
  • No small beads or beans in stuffed toys
  • Art supplies must be labeled as “nontoxic”

If you have any questions about an item that you would like to donate, please feel free to ask. Thanks so much for your support – and keep those donations coming! As you can see from the blog, the chimps’ lives are enriched each day by your generous gifts.