FORT PIERCE — It takes a village to care for a child, and the same can be said about a chimpanzee residing at Save the Chimps (STC).
The world’s largest chimpanzee sanctuary, located in Fort Pierce, is home to nearly 300 chimpanzees that have been rescued from research laboratories, entertainment, and the pet trade.
Caring for the chimpanzees is an undertaking that requires a full staff of nearly 60 employees, two veterinarians, and countless, devoted volunteers who support the sanctuary in many ways.
Save the Chimps’ most recent expression of that generosity is the addition of 50 volunteers from Wal-Mart’s Ft. Pierce Distribution Center #7038.
STC was selected to be the recipient of Wal-Mart’s “Making Life Better” Day where associates will spend their day off painting four of the chimpanzee buildings.
The effort will help spruce up the sanctuary in advance of STC Member Day on September 15 when more than 300 members will be touring the sanctuary which is closed to the public.
“We first became aware of Save the Chimps from one of our Managers, Robbie Crandall, who volunteers at the sanctuary,” explained Jennie Shalala-Hartman, AP Manager of Wal-Mart’s Ft. Pierce Distribution Center.
Shalala-Hartman has spearheaded the volunteer effort, securing the participation of her fellow employees and collecting donated supplies from four stores as well as the transportation division and the distribution center.
“Since then, we’ve developed a great partnership and will continue to do what we can to provide these amazing beings with a peaceful retirement,” Shalala-Hartman added.
Their team goal is to reach a total of 250 volunteer hours. If that is achieved, STC will receive a $5,000 grant from Wal-Mart.
“We are incredibly thankful to Wal-Mart for their wonderful display of community support in donated labor and supplies and the opportunity to secure a generous grant,” STC Director of Communications Triana Romero said.
About Save the Chimps
Save the Chimps is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing permanent sanctuary for the lifelong care of chimpanzees rescued from research laboratories, the entertainment industry, and the pet trade.
For more information, please visit www.SaveTheChimps.org or Facebook.com/SaveTheChimps.
About Save the Chimps Member Day
In honor of the 10-year anniversary of the rescue of 266 former Coulston chimpanzees, STC will host its second annual Member Day Event on September 15.
The walking tour covers 1.25 miles of the expansive 150-acre sanctuary. Members will observe the chimpanzees as they roam the islands of grass, palm trees, hills, and climbing structures that allow the chimps to run and play, visit with friends, or find a quiet corner to relax, bask in the sun, or curl up in the shade.
The event is sold out; however, another Member Day will be held in 2013.
About the Great Chimpanzee Migration
The Great Chimpanzee Migration began in 2002 when The Coulston Foundation (TCF), a biomedical research laboratory in New Mexico, contacted Save the Chimps and offered to sell the land and buildings to Save the Chimps and “donate” its 266 chimpanzees.
Thanks to a $3.7 million grant from the Arcus Foundation, Save the Chimps was able to purchase and modify the stark TCF facility into a healthier and happier environment for the chimpanzees, including, for the first time in their lives, fresh food, enlarged cages, enrichment activities, compassionate caregivers and, most importantly, the establishment of social groups.
It took ten years to permanently relocate all of the former Coulston lab chimpanzees to their “Islands in the Sun” in Florida.
Save the Chimps’ custom-built trailer has made more than twenty-five 4,000 mile round trips between New Mexico and Florida (the equivalent of driving around the Earth four times), carrying 10 chimpanzees each time.
The Great Chimpanzee Migration was completed in December 2011.