Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

northwest

Making Sanctuary Possible

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Here is a great photo of Jody that J.B. took:

Jody climbing

This is the Jody who spent decades in research laboratories and was used as a breeding machine, having at least eleven pregnancies beginning when she was eight years old. This is the Jody who lived in cramped quarters in a dirty basement in Pennsylvania, waiting for her sanctuary home along with Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Missy, and Negra.

Jody had an adventurous day yesterday in the spring air and spent a lot of time today nesting and grooming her friends.

Sanctuary is so important. For Jody it might mean being able to climb once in a while and having piles of blankets to move from one area to another. Getting to know the chimpanzees and catering to their individual personalities is what Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is all about.

But in order to do that truly effectively, there’s all this other work that has to happen. The Share the Chimp Love video that we made last month shows what it takes to directly care for the chimpanzees, but it didn’t show the hours answering emails, preparing for fundraising events, construction projects, budgeting, ensuring our non-profit status and various business licenses are in order, or strategic planning for the future.

Just like the direct care of the chimpanzees, this other work is essential to their well being, and we are extremely lucky to have so many people who volunteer their time, ideas, supplies, and support in order to keep the behind-the-scenes operations running smoothly.

Recently we had two volunteers who have added a tremendous value to our operations – both of them named Sharon! Sharon Burke has helped us immensely by serving on our Finance Committee and advising us on financial tracking, reporting, and procedures. Sharon Clinton, just a week after retiring, took several days and magically transformed our filing system. I am not exaggerating when I say that our files are now a thing of beauty to behold.

Just like the generator, made possible by the NAVS Sanctuary Fund and Karen and Don Young, I never imagined myself getting excited about a filing system or financial coding, but I really am now enthusiastic about these things. I understand that they are incredibly valuable to the chimpanzees and their future. And I’m so grateful for the Sharons of the world who not only contribute to the chimps’ lives financially, but also volunteer their invaluable skills to make Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest a better organization.

Jody is counting on us to take care of her in every aspect for the rest of her life, and I know that her large community of supporters means that she in very good hands.

Two of a Kind

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Below are a couple of photos – one of Annie and one of Missy that I took a month or so apart a while back.  How does that saying go – birds of a feather, flock together? I just love that they are in such similar poses, but on opposite sides of the ladder.

Before we get to the photos, though – we have some celebrating to do!

REASON TO CELEBRATE #1: Your donations, your generosity, your love got us to $12,590 in our Share the Chimp Love fundraising. THANK YOU to every single person who donated and set up fundraising pages. Check out the Share the Chimp Love page to see who barely came in ahead in the 2014 Interim Co-Director fundraising competition (in truth, I may have been the only co-director who was really in competition). $2,590 over our goal is certainly something to celebrate!

REASON TO CELEBRATE #2: Grapes for Apes, our wine tasting in Kirkland at Northwest Cellars tomorrow, sold out! Even if you can’t attend, you can buy both red and white wine with the beautiful Jody label that Lori Kiers designed. Learn how on the Grapes for Apes event page.

Here’s the label:

Jody wine label

I’m really looking forward to seeing the Grapes for Apes crowd and also kicking off ticket sales for Hoot!, our May 3rd Seattle gala. Check this page tomorrow to buy your Hoot! tickets or get them in person at Grapes for Apes. We decided to have tables of ten at a reduced price this year for the gala, so you should definitely think about inviting nine people and getting a whole table.

REASON TO CELEBRATE #3: In just a few weeks we will be installing a back-up generator, thanks to NAVS and Karen and Don Young!

2014 is looking pretty good for the Cle Elum Seven.

Without further ado, here are BFFs Annie and Missy demonstrating “birds of a feather” :

Annie sitting on platform

Missy sit platform

 

Competition for Love

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The February Share the Chimp Love campaign is almost over – we’re counting down in hours rather than days now!

As of this minute, you have helped raise $11,246 for the chimpanzees! That’s a lot of chimp love!

Share the love screenshot

You may not know that there is a bit of a competition going on between the Interim Co-Directors. I am just a bit ahead of J.B. right now, but it’s anyone’s game at this point because J.B. is trailing by just $110.

Perhaps you’d like to even things out by donating on J.B.’s page, or (better yet) strengthen my lead by making a donation on my page. Either way, your donations will help us care for the real directors of the sanctuary – Jamie, Jody, Negra, Missy, Burrito, Foxie, and Annie.

These last two months have been full of wonderful acts of generosity and support for the sanctuary. Seeing the Share the Chimp Love campaign surpass our $10,000 goal and watching other people – board members, staff, volunteers, and donors – fundraise on behalf of the chimps has been inspiring.

As we say on the campaign page, it takes about $30,000 per month just for the very basics to run the sanctuary. We do not receive any governmental support, so all of the money raised comes from private donations by individuals, foundations, and organizations. We partake in a variety of activities to raise the money needed to care for the chimpanzees including grant-writing, auctions, and special events, and it’s really true that every dollar helps. So, thank you so much for helping!

Speaking of special events, I hope to see all of you local folks at the Grapes for Apes wine tasting on Saturday to celebrate the Share the Chimp Love success. You can share the Grapes for Apes event on Facebook with your friends, even if you’re unable to attend.

And I hope even some non-local folks will consider making a trip out to Seattle to attend the Hoot! gala on May 3rd. Invitations are going in the mail very soon. It’s going to be so much fun!

Aging in reverse

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We’ve said it before, but here’s some more evidence of the “aging in reverse” process that has happened for the chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest:

Jamie in 2008:

2008 Jamie

 

Jamie in 2011:

2011 Jamie

 

Jamie this morning:

2013 Jamie again

2014 Jamie

 

Peace of Mind

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This morning, we awoke to another power outage – the fourth one this winter.

Losing power is never fun when you’re caring for chimps. In the winter, we have to set up a portable generator outside and connect it to a backup heater to keep the chimp house warm. In the summer, we risk losing hundreds of dollars worth of produce if we can’t keep our refrigerators running. And after the Taylor Bridge Fire, when we had no power for days, we were left with no lights, no laundry, no computers, and worst of all, a struggle to keep essential phones and radios charged during an emergency.

I’m happy to say that this morning was probably the last time we’ll ever have to deal with the effects a power outage. Thanks to a grant from the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) Sanctuary Fund and a generous donation from supporters Karen and Don Young, we will soon be installing a 20-kilowatt standby generator. This generator will come on automatically within seconds anytime the power goes out and will run everything in the chimp house: heat, lights, chimp doors, refrigerators, and the electric fences.

Sometimes I wish the chimps could see all the things that people and organizations from all over the world do to help care for them. But in this case, the whole point of the gift is that they won’t ever know anything was wrong in the first place. And that means Negra won’t have to lose a single minute of sleep over it.

So our sincere thanks go out to NAVS, and to Karen and Don, for giving our staff some peace of mind, and for giving Negra some peace and quiet.

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Here’s Negra at the beginning of the party this morning, delicately sipping from her cup of pomegranate juice.

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Here’s Negra a few minutes later, when she realized that the other chimps were getting all the food.

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Actually, Negra was the big winner of the party today, as you’ll see in the video below. But everyone had a great time, thanks to Syd and Diane, Lisa, Steph, and all the volunteers.

I hope you all are having a great Valentine’s Day too! And if Valentine’s Day is not your thing, I hope you enjoy watching the chimps celebrate theirs. And remember – you can help keep the celebration going by Sharing the Chimp Love.

Big thanks to Debbie Redwine for her $500 challenge donation that was quickly matched by Bridget Lepley, and matched again by Adrienne Armstrong. Truly a day to warm our hearts!