Today is Meg Lunnum’s birthday, and she has chosen to celebrate it by sponsoring today for the chimpanzees. This isn’t Meg’s only act of generosity – she’s been supporting the sanctuary since shortly after the chimps arrived, and she’s currently sponsoring Negra’s care monthly through our Chimpanzee Pal program. Thanks so much to Meg and to all of you who give so generously so we can give the chimps the life they deserve.
Have a spectacular birthday, Meg (from Negra and all of us)!
Donna Hughes sponsored today in celebration of her and her twin sister Doreen’s birthday. Doreen and Donna have been enthusiastic supporters of the chimpanzees since early on, and while they love all of the Cle Elum Seven, they have a special fondness for Foxie. They currently sponsor her through our Chimpanzee Pal program, and they even have their own troll doll collection!
Here’s Foxie with part of her collection:
We hope you have a joyous birthday, Doreen and Donna!
Today’s sponsor-a-day is from Connie and Bill in loving memory of Debbie Curran whose friendship will never be forgotten.
Here’s to friendship:
Bob, Willie, and Sue sponsored today in honor of Kathy Cochran’s birthday. Kathy recently used her vast video production skills to create an amazing video to honor Bob, Willie, and Sue’s mother, and knowing how devoted to CSNW and the Cle Elum Seven Kathy is, they wanted to sponsor her birthday as a thank you. (Incidentally, Kathy has also put her enormous talents to work for the chimpanzees – she’s responsible for designing our gorgeous Year One and Year Two books, among other things.)
Happy birthday to Kathy from Bob, Willie, Sue, and all of us at CSNW.
(Humans are not the only species to appreciate a good video.)
Today is Burrito’s big day! Burrito is a charming guy and has a lot of admirers – in fact, he’s so loved that three separate people have sponsored today in honor of his 29th birthday. On Burrito’s behalf, we want to offer a BIG thank you to Adrienne Armstrong, Marcia Douthwaite, and Ginna Keulen for their generosity. This is going to be one heck of a party!
Burrito is happiest when he’s eating (and he’ll be doing a lot of that today):
Today is sponsored by Margaret Parkinson and Karen Creason in honor of Margaret’s beloved brother David John Parkinson, who died on December 11th in Margaret and David’s native New Zealand. Margaret and Karen are some of the warmest people you could ever hope to meet. They’re chimp house volunteers and long-time supporters whose love for the chimpanzees is obvious to anyone who meets them (and it’s reciprocated – the chimps adore them!). They had this to say about David and why they chose to sponsor a day in his name:
“David helped Margaret feel cared for all her life and we want [the Cle Elum Seven] to feel cared for in his honor.”
Here’s Missy grooming her “brother”, Burrito:
Vern and Jean Bengston have sponsored today in honor of Julie and Rob Sweet. The chimpanzees are currently enjoying breakfast and excitedly waiting for us to finish cleaning the playroom so today’s party can begin! We’re so grateful to everyone who donates so we can continue to provide the chimps with everything they deserve.
Here’s Negra enjoying last year’s festivities:
At my house, we traditionally have our Thanksgiving Day meal at lunch because usually we all eat so much that we need a nap almost immediately, but then can get up later and have leftovers and pie! In the spirit of family, I incorporated some of that tradition into the chimps’ day, only they had brunch instead (so they can still have room for their Field Roast dinner and dessert tonight!). Their Thanksgiving Day Brunch included small plates of sweet and regular baked potatoes, Brussels sprouts, onions, pumpkin, cranberry sauce, and some delicious blueberry pomegranate juice. They were going crazy watching us set it all up!
The chimps were so excited when they went into the playroom that a small fight broke out. Chimps are very emotional and sometimes excitement can lead to aggression, which is exactly what happened today. Chimps’ emotions are very strongly tied to their limbic systems, meaning they have less control over their emotions- so when they feel something, they truly feel it and sometimes it gets out of hand (which is why the most predictable thing about chimps is that they are unpredictable). Not surprisingly, like a true Queen, Negra stayed out of things while everyone else worked it out. In fact, while everyone else was screaming and running around after each other, Negra was quietly sitting in her nest enjoying her Brussels sprouts. The argument only lasted about 2 minutes and soon everyone was quietly enjoying their Thanksgiving brunch together.
Negra enjoying her Brussels sprout stalk while sitting in her nest in her favorite spot in the playroom:
Jamie loved the Brussels sprouts!
Missy enjoying a little onion
Burrito was so excited! I wasn’t able to get too many good photos of him today because he was moving around so fast collecting his favorite foods! Here’s a photo of him mid-chew, enjoying the delicious baked potatoes:
Annie enjoying her sweet potato:
Here at CSNW, we have a lot to be thankful for! It’s been a spectacular year and so much of that is because of our generous donors and supporters! In addition to Emily Ruch and Marcia Douthwaite, who both sponsored today, a special thank you goes out to Robyn Petticrew and Barbara Bakaletz, who both made recent donations to help ensure a spectacular day for the chimps! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Emily and Marcia have each sponsored today as a Thanksgiving gift to the Cle Elum Seven. Their generosity has helped enable us to plan the big bash about to get underway. (I’ll give you all a sneak peek: it’s going to involve Field Roast, cranberries, chunky homemade applesauce, pecans, warm rolls, and sugar-free pumpkin pie for dessert.) We are so thankful for Marcia, Emily, and all of you who love these chimpanzees as much as we do. Happy Thanksgiving!
(Be sure to check back later for photos and video of the party.)
With Thanksgiving approaching, we’d like to give our thanks to a very special supporter. Kathleen Flynn is an architect who has donated her considerable talents to many projects, from public memorial spaces to affordable housing for people in rural and underserved communities. We connected with Kathleen through the 1% Program of Public Architecture, a service that links organizations in need of design assistance with architects willing to donate their time, and we’re both excited to collaborate on a new project for the sanctuary. Through her firm, Wild Goose Architecture, Kathleen has been helping us design our new veterinary clinic addition and develop master facilities and site plans for the sanctuary.
On her website, Kathleen notes that she takes inspiration from the wild goose, which the ancient Celts viewed as “energetically quirky”. Kathleen, if you’re looking for energetic quirkiness, you’ve come to the right place…
Negra Hoodie
It's still cold out there (unless you live in a tropical paradise). Envelope yourself in the soft warmth of the most comfortable pullover hoodie on the planet. Price reduced by 5 bucks! Get yours today! Shop for all items in the online store.
Tickets on sale now for the fourth annual Sippin' for the Seven! New this year - an online art auction open for everyone, no matter your location. Buy tickets and register for the auction (auction items will be posted in March and bidding opens March 24th) on the Biddin' for the Seven auction site. For more information, visit the Sippin' event page.
Chimp Sanctuary NW blog
