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Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary for primates.

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volunteer

Volunteers Needed!

May 3, 2022 by J.B.

Update: Our first volunteer work parties will take place Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19 starting at 10am. If you’d like to join us, please fill out the form in the link below or contact J.B. at [email protected] Thanks!

It’s been about 11 years since a group of hard-working and dedicated volunteers helped us build Young’s Hill, the 2-acre habitat that gave the Cle Elum Seven chimpanzees their first opportunity to truly step outdoors. Now it’s time to give our group of nine chimpanzees their own dedicated habitat – named The Bray in loving memory of James Douglas – and we need your help!

This spring and summer, we’ll be installing fencing and building climbing structures. If you live nearby and would like to help, fill out this form to join our construction volunteer list. More details on volunteer work parties are included on the form.

And if you aren’t able to volunteer, please consider donating so that we can keep this project moving forward and nine chimpanzees can get the chance to run, climb, and swing through their own open-air habitat.

Thank you!!

Filed Under: Construction, Volunteers, Young's Hill Tagged With: build, chimpanzee, fence, habitat, northwest, rescue, Sanctuary, volunteer

Breaking Ground

June 29, 2018 by J.B.

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest’s Bring Them Home expansion project officially got underway this morning.

A few years ago, we launched a campaign to expand our chimpanzee facility so that we could take in more chimpanzees in need. We knew it would be an ambitious project for an organization our size; what we didn’t expect, however, was all of the twists and turns that we’d experience along the way.

As we began to develop plans for the new addition, we were surprised to learn from the DOT that we’d be required to build a new driveway before we could get a permit for the building. We needed to find a suitable location to connect to the state highway and the options on our existing property, located on a long curve in the road, were limited. As fortune would have it, a neighboring property with an approved access location came up for sale, so we purchased it and made plans to install a driveway connecting the two properties. To get a permit to build that connecting driveway, we had to conduct a months-long environmental study. Given how eager we are to build for more chimps, each of these delays felt like an eternity. But at last we are underway.

This morning, Gordy Margullis of Gordon’s Dozing and Backhoe Service came over bright and early from Renton, WA to donate his time and equipment to build the nearly 1/4-mile-long connecting driveway. We are so incredibly grateful to Gordy for helping us with this project – he even took it upon himself to get other businesses to donate towards the cost of the gravel!. Our thanks also go out to Darci, who found out about our driveway project during a donor visit last summer and told her animal-loving employer, Gordy, about our situation.

Ellie supervising:

Connecting the new with the old, with Young’s Hill and the chimps’ Twister structure in the background behind the old barn:

It always helps with donors when your resident elk knows how to turn on the charm:

Next we will have to rip up the asphalt on part of the neighboring driveway and regrade it so that it’s not so steep (to meet code). Luckily we have another generous contractor lined up to help with some of that project and reduce the cost as much as we can.

The driveway is a costly and time-consuming project that we had not anticipated when we set out to expand the chimp house. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the sanctuary’s incredible friend Vicki Fagerlee and to the many donors from last summer’s Summer Biddin’ online auction who stepped up to help us cover the costs of this first part of the project. Because of them, and because Gordy and others have helped keep those costs as low as possible, we can put more of our resources towards the expansion and, ultimately, getting more chimps to sanctuary.

Speaking of the expansion, we are scheduled to begin construction on July 16! Due to the cost of the project, we have broken it into phases. The first phase will add a foyer, a permanent veterinary clinic with a recovery enclosure, a new bathroom, a new laundry/enrichment room, and two small indoor chimp enclosures to aid in quarantine and introductions. Phase 1 will immediately improve our ability to care for the Cle Elum 7 and create a better working environment for our staff and volunteers. It would also allow us to take in a very small number of chimpanzees to integrate into our current group, but only under certain conditions (depending on the number of chimps in the group, their ages, etc.), so there’s no guarantee that this would happen right away. However, we plan to continue as quickly as possible with Phase 2 (a new playroom) and Phase 3 (a new greenhouse) so that we can have space to integrate and care for a new social group.

For those of you with excellent eyesight, here’s a look at what the floor plan will look like after all three phases are complete:

Tomorrow we’ll be holding a ceremonial groundbreaking to commemorate this momentous occasion!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Construction, Sanctuary, Volunteers Tagged With: chimpanzee, driveway, expansion, gordon's dozing and backhoe, northwest, project, rescue, Sanctuary, volunteer

Keeping up with Jamie

May 25, 2018 by J.B.

Join grad student interns Carly and Grace as they take a break from cleaning and preparing meals to walk and run around Young’s Hill with Jamie.

I was very excited to get to use our new gimbal (a fancy handle that steadies your videos – especially when running) that a wonderful supporter purchased from our Amazon wish list. We’re looking forward to using it to film some Facebook Live videos soon!

Filed Under: Jamie, Latest Videos, Volunteers, Young's Hill Tagged With: chimpanzee, exercise, intern, Jamie, northwest, rescue, run, Sanctuary, volunteer

Special Visitors and New Stuff for the Chimps

October 26, 2015 by Diana

Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest has held several online auctions over the last few years, filled with fun items to bid on. Some of the coolest and most popular items have been donated by Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day (this year he gave a personally-signed guitar to the Summer Biddin’ online auction).

The Armstrong family has been following the lives of the Cle Elum Seven for a while (proving something that doesn’t need proof: Burrito is irresistible), and Billie Joe’s wife Adrienne, who also owns Atomic Garden in Oakland, and her sister-in-law Jessy have visited the sanctuary a few times – always wanting to directly help out while they are here!

This past weekend, Adrienne, Jessy, Billie Joe, and Jessy’s husband / Adrienne’s brother Steve, owner of Familia Skateshop in Minnesota, all came out for a visit and to lend a hand. Susan Holmes McKagan, Billie Joe and Adrienne’s friend and model, fashion designer, and wife to bassist Duff  McKagan also came out for the afternoon on Saturday.

We learned a few things over the two days they were here, including the fact that chimpanzees love Billie Joe. Jamie was extremely excited when he was willing to run with her around the hill, and invited him to do so several times. She didn’t even insist on him wearing cowboy boots:

walking around the hill

Billie Joe Armstrong running with Jamie

Billie Joe and Jamie taking off

And a few of the chimps listened while he played an acoustic guitar. Here’s Negra lending an ear:

Negra listens to Billie Joe Armstrong

 

Adrienne brought some rare brown-haired troll dolls, which Foxie immediately adopted

Foxie with new brown haired troll doll

and brought on a walk around the hill with Adrienne and Susan:

Adrienne Armstrong and Susan Holmes McKeagan walking with Foxie

 

The main task for the weekend was putting up a new structure on the hill that consisted of two tall log posts and a few metal bars that were to be installed between them for the chimps to climb on and swing from.

JB, Steve, and Billie Joe constructing

JB testing the bar structure

 

Not surprisingly, Jamie and Missy were the first to inspect and play on the structure after a forage was put out for everyone to enjoy:

web_aa_set_out_forage_bar_IMG_7864 copy

Missy on new bar structure

web_Jamie_top_of_bar_structure copy

 

The chimps didn’t have all the fun, though. The humans did a little “chimping around” during their breaks from manual labor:

web_Jessy_climb_tower_IMG_7856 copy

Billie Joe Armstrong walking across the shaky bridge

web_relaxing_on_the_bridge_IMG_7860 copy

 

The new bar structure is really neat, and there’s no doubt that the chimpanzees are going to enjoy it, but I was equally excited that Adrienne and Jessy got the holiday tree from last year planted on the hill:

holiday tree on Young's Hill

The tree has been living in a pot in the greenhouse since last December, and the chimps, especially Jody, have been periodically snacking on it:

Jody biting tree

Jody eating tree bit

I’m really curious how that little bedraggled tree will do on the hill – I have high hopes!

 

As a well-deserved thank you for all the Armstrongs have done for the chimpanzees, both this weekend and in the past with their donations, they got to watch the chimpanzees enjoy the fruits of their labor from the observation deck looking out onto Young’s Hill:

watching the chimps

 

What an awesome weekend for everyone!

 

Filed Under: Construction, Jamie, Sanctuary, Thanks, Young's Hill Tagged With: adrienne armstrong, billie joe armstrong, chimp, chimpanzee, Construction, csnw, green day, habitat, northwest, Sanctuary, susan holmes mckagan, volunteer

New Year’s Day Sponsored by Diane and Sherri

January 1, 2015 by Diana

Today is certainly a very special day. You, supporters of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, helped us to really ring in 2015 in style by getting us beyond our goal of $65,000 in individual donations in the month of December. Wow!

Two people contributed to this success by making a sponsor-a-day donation and choosing this special day to sponsor. Thank you, Sherri Mudri and Diane Mattis!

Sherri’s gift message for today is “Happy New Year to the Magnificent 7!”

and volunteer Diane shared this lovely thought, “New Year’s Day is the beginning of another year for us all to celebrate what we have and think of what we can do in 2015 to make the world a better place. 2015 will be another year for the Chimps to be loved, kept safe and well and grow because of the dedication, kindness and love each person at the Sanctuary provides freely every day. Happy 2015 to the Chimps and the Humans.”

What more needs to be said?

Here are two photos to celebrate today:

Burrito and fancy drinks

bunch of chimps on a structure

This second photo is featured on the back of our 2015 calendar – hopefully many of you are hanging up your calendars today!

 

Filed Under: Sanctuary, Sponsor-a-day, Thanks, Volunteers Tagged With: calendar, chimp, chimpanzee, csnw, new year's, northwest, rescue, Sanctuary, Sponsor-a-day, volunteer

Board Member Profile: Kimber Leblicq

August 30, 2013 by Diana

Learn all about our current Board President, Kimber Leblicq, in this post. This is the second post in the series profiling our fantastic Board of Directors. If you missed the first one that introduced outgoing Board President David, you can view it here.

Kimber portrait
While Kimber is just beginning a term as Board President, she has been involved with Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest for a very long time. Kimber’s professional background is in communications, marketing, and fundraising in the non-profit sector in the Northwest. She is also a compassionate advocate for animal welfare and the environment and manages to make  unique sculptural jewelry in addition to all of her other interests!

She has joked with founder Keith and former board member Mary Murray, that, if you counted the two of them, Kimber was the third volunteer for CSNW. This was before Keith purchased the property for the sanctuary, before there were staff, and before Keith had even learned about Burrito, Foxie, Jody, Missy, Annie, Jamie, and Negra.

In 2004 Mary and Keith met Kimber in a coffee shop to discuss Keith’s vision for the organization. Kimber immediately offered her skills and expertise to help advise and build what became the foundation of the organization during this early start-up phase.

Over three years Kimber and an advisory committee created a marketing and development plan; drafted a strategic plan; crafted the mission, vision, and values statements; wrote grant proposals to seek seed funding; reached out to other sanctuaries and primate advocates for a feasibility study; and set up the organizational structure to prepare for the day they were going to welcome chimpanzees. All of this preparation meant that there was already a strong organization in place before the chimpanzees arrived. And it certainly built up the anticipation for that day!

Before the Cle Elum Seven arrived in 2008, the official Board of Directors was formed and Kimber transitioned off of the committee. Kimber proudly watched the fledgling organization grow, and, in 2011, the board asked if she would like to join once again to serve in official capacity.

In her current role as Board President, Kimber is looking forward to launching our new strategic plan, which will drive the organization’s road-map for the next five years.

I’ll end with how she feels about CSNW in her own words, “Serving the Cle Elum Seven is the most important work that I have done as a volunteer. Giving them what they deserve fulfills me every day. I have a deep respect for our organization, for our staff, and for our army of volunteers who work hard to meet the needs of our chimps. Thank you also to our donors for their generous support. It’s a pleasure and an honor to work with like-minded and passionate people and thank you all for being a part of our family.”

Kimber and Medo
Elephant Nature Foundation, Thailand. Medo and Kimber

Filed Under: Sanctuary, Thanks, Volunteers Tagged With: board, chimp, chimpanzee, csnw, directors, kimber, leblicq, northwest, president, Sanctuary, volunteer

Thanks Jim and Brian

July 21, 2012 by J.B.

Jim Spencer and Brian Osborne have spent the last couple Saturdays putting the finishing touches on our new shed. The money for the materials was raised at the last Out of the Box auction and the labor was generously donated by Jim, Brian, and Doug Bucklin.

The shed will house all of our equipment and supplies for events like the auction, the Sippin’ for the Seven wine tasting, and the Race for the Apes 5K. Diana has already moved in, but many of our supplies are now packed up for tomorrow’s Rosyln Olympics. Hope to see you there!

Filed Under: Thanks, Volunteers Tagged With: auction, chimpanzee, donation, northwest, rescue, roslyn olympics, Sanctuary, shed, volunteer

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PO Box 952
Cle Elum, WA 98922
[email protected]
509-699-0728
501c3 registered charity
EIN: 68-0552915

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