August eNews from Project Chimps!
August eNewsletter
Welcome to the first Project Chimps eNewsletter! Each month you will be sent fun and informative updates on all the activities at the sanctuary. This is where you will learn about our new chimpanzee residents, who will be on the next #roadtoretirement journey home to sanctuary, special events, volunteer opportunities, and more! We hope you enjoy it and if you do- please share with your friends and family so everyone can learn about the important work we do for these incredible chimps. It’s easy to unsubscribe via the footer in this and every future eNews, so no worries if you find that this kind of monthly information is not for you. We welcome feedback and suggestions for future editions, so keep in touch- we’d love to hear from you!
Sincerely,
Sarah Baeckler Davis
President & CEO
Road to Retirement: The Chimps’ Journey Home to Sanctuary
We are thrilled to welcome our very first group of chimpanzees to the sanctuary soon! Help us get Jennifer, Charisse, Buttercup, Latricia, Samira, Gertrude, Emma, Genesis, and Gracie home to sanctuary. These young ladies have a new life waiting for them and we need YOUR help to get them home. They will soon be on the first Road to Retirement journey from the New Iberia Research Center in Lafayette, Louisiana to the Project Chimps sanctuary in Morganton, Georgia.
So what exactly is the Road to Retirement journey? Well, it is what we are calling the many, many trips that will be taken across the southern states to get all 220 chimpanzees from New Iberia to their new sanctuary home. It will be a long trip (about 16 hours), but they will have blankets to snuggle and nest with, treats and snacks, and there will be many stops along the way so our veterinarian and behavior team can check on everyone throughout their air-conditioned trip. We can’t wait to celebrate their arrival with you!
This gorgeous 236-acre sanctuary is waiting for them!
Do you know what is even better? You can be a part of the Road to Retirement journey without having to leave the comfort of your own home! For super generous donations of $200 or more, you will be given the opportunity to have a personalized message ride along inside the transport trailer with the chimps! They can be notes of encouragement and well wishes for their future, they can be in honor of a friend or loved one, pretty pictures with lots of color so they have something interesting to look at during their trip- let your creativity shine for chimps!
If you choose to be part of the trip and make a $200+ donation, you will be mailed a 5×8 card stock to decorate, write your message, then send back to us so we can make sure it is hung up in time for the next #roadtoretirement trip (deadlines apply).
Just visit here to make your donation and show your support. Every dollar counts and we hope you will consider donating to the Road to Retirement Fund so we can get these girls and the next groups of chimps to sanctuary as soon as possible. You can help bring a chimp home!
Gettin’ Down & Dirty: Special Guest Volunteer Week
Founding Donors- Kat Von D, Adrienne & Billie Joe Armstrong, Rachael Ray, and John Cusimano
We were fortunate to welcome several special guests and founding donors at the sanctuary for a week of hard work to prep the sanctuary grounds for our chimp residents. Everyone worked hard cleaning, painting, building, and organizing. Billie Joe Armstrong, front man for the rock band Green Day, and his lovely wife, Adrienne, got right to work painting the headquarters building and scrubbing the Cedar Tree Villa. Kat Von D, another superstar supporter, was the first to put on a pair of waders and hop into the pond that needed to be cleaned out. Rachael Ray even stopped by to unveil the new Chimp Kitchen that she donated, designed, and remodeled!
Lots of gardening and yard clean-up had to be done, and our volunteers were up for the task!
Billie Joe Armstrong, admiring his beautiful paint job on our Headquarters building
Lipstick for Chimps!
Well, maybe not lipstick for chimps, but definitely to support chimps! Project Chimps is not only a sanctuary for chimpanzees, it’s now a lipstick shade in Kat Von D’s Everlasting Liquid Lipstick collection! Vegan and cruelty-free, this incredible shade was created specifically for Project Chimps and 20% of the proceeds of it will be donated to the organization. It launched last week and is limited edition, so make sure you buy it while you can (and don’t forget to tell your friends and family!). Help support a great cause and look fabulous as you do it! Visit here to purchase! Don’t forget: only the Project Chimps shade of lipstick will benefit Project Chimps.
Rachael Ray’s Chimp Kitchen
This gorgeous kitchen is ready for some chimp food prep!
Beautiful new stoves!
Check out the beautiful new Chimp Kitchen, donated and renovated by television personality and animal advocate, Rachael Ray! Our chimps will have their delicious and nutritious meals created here in Rachael’s Chimp Kitchen. There is a smoothie bar to create a fun new way for the chimp residents to enjoy their fruits and veggies, a walk-in cooler, food prep area and storage, and all of the cookware and utensils we could need! The large window behind the sink is where eager chimp faces will be waiting and watching as their meals and snacks are prepared. So grateful to Rachael and her talented team for making this dream a reality for Project Chimps.
Pant Hoots of Gratitude!
We are so very grateful to our founding donors for helping to get Project Chimps off and running towards our goal of retiring 220 chimpanzees from the New Iberia Research Center! The Humane Society of the United States has been instrumental in the launch of our project, so big pant hoots of gratitude to them. HSUS has been a leader in the decades-long fight to end the use of chimpanzees in laboratory research and has played a key role in ensuring that the chimpanzees have a nurturing sanctuary home for the remainder of their lives.
It is because of our donors that we are able to provide lifetime sanctuary care for chimpanzees and we must give a shout out to these incredible folks who have all had a hand in making this possible: Adrienne & Billie Joe Armstrong, Kat Von D, Rachael’s Rescue, LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, New England Anti-Vivisection Society, P!nk, Judy Greer & Dean Johnsen, Bruce & Deborah Wagman, Marsha Perelman, Steve & Karen Ellis, Jay Turley, The Gavin Polone Trust, GMVO and Co., Wendy & Rich Malaspina, National Anti-Vivisection Society, the Sammy Hagar Foundation, Bethany & Euan Menzies, and a very generous Anonymous donor (you know who you are- and we thank you immensely!).
We are also completely thankful for the support of the American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) for sponsoring the Project Chimps transport trailer! AAVS has given us the ability to provide a safe and comfortable mode of transportation for ALL of the chimps coming from NIRC to their new sanctuary home (over 22 trips will be made to get all the chimps to sanctuary!). Pant hoots of gratitude to this amazing and supportive organization that works to end the use of animals in science. Thank you, AAVS!
Volunteer Opportunities
We have received an outpouring of interest regarding our volunteer program and we couldn’t be happier! Volunteer support is vital to a nonprofit organization, and we will need many folks to help with different areas including chimp food prep, special events, gardening and grounds work, habitat cleaning, and more. We are finalizing the details of the program and once we are ready to accept applications, information will be shared on our social media channels, website, and in our next eNewsletter. So stay tuned for more info on how you can join the Project Chimps team and help support the work we do to change the lives of chimpanzees!