"For many people, a new year means new resolutions. We pledge to go to the gym… eat better… quit smoking… or embark on some other project to better ourselves.

Despite our best intentions, our New Year’s resolutions don’t always work out. Whether yours do or don’t, I want you to know that you’re already doing something really great and meaningful as a dedicated supporter of Save the Chimps.

So whatever happens with your other New Year’s resolutions, I hope you’ll start 2011 by keeping up the good and important work you’ve made possible as a member of Save the Chimps – helping us care for chimpanzees like Dana who had been tragically mistreated in research labs, in the entertainment industry, or in the pet trade.

Our 2011 membership renewal drive is our most important fundraising campaign of the year and I urge you to renew your support for Save the Chimps today.

2011 is, in fact, a really big year for Save the Chimps. It’s the 10th anniversary of the arrival of the Air Force chimps. It will also be the year we complete the “Great Chimp Migration,” moving the last 56 chimps from what was once The Coulston Foundation in New Mexico to their permanent sanctuary home here in Florida. When we finish, all the chimps will be home at last. And later this month – Jan. 31 to be exact – we’ll mark the 50th anniversary of Ham’s flight into space. This is a big day here because the welfare of the Space Chimps and their descendants inspired our late founder, Dr. Carole Noon, to found Save the Chimps in the first place!

As I think of all that lies ahead in 2011, I can’t help but think of how fortunate we are to count you as a friend and member. You’re part of a small but extremely loyal group of people, and I’m very grateful to count you as part of our family.

You might not realize it or think much about it, but your membership in Save the Chimps really says a lot about you. It shows you have something some people will never have: a rare sensitivity and the conviction to put your compassion into action. You’re able to see things through the point of view of a chimp like Dana.

– You understand that chimps are so like us in so many ways – intelligent, full of emotion, sensitive, our closest living relatives…

– You have the ability to close your eyes and imagine Dana’s suffering before she was rescued from an experimental laboratory…

– You can imagine living in constant fear, the frustration, confusion and desperation. Being sedated and strapped to a table. Having your kidney removed. Having your children taken from you. The isolation, the boredom, the long years of loneliness.

– You can also imagine the high points after Dana was rescued. The exhilaration of running free outside. Staring up at cotton clouds and a blue sky after years of confinement in a sterile laboratory. The cool sensation of touching grass for the first time. The simple pleasure of a juicy orange, the warm sun on your back. The camaraderie of chimp friends all around…

When you renew your annual membership, we’ll be able to provide Dana and the other residents of Save the Chimps with everything they need to be healthy and happy. Please remember, this is our most important fundraising effort of the year.The survival and success of Save the Chimps depends on friends like you…

Your renewal gift helps us feed the chimps three fresh meals daily, maintain their island homes, and care for and protect them all year long. It will also allow us to finish the Great Chimp Migration from New Mexico to the sanctuary here in Florida where all the chimps will finally be safe and happy for life.

Thank you. I am happy and honored to call you a friend – and so is Dana.

Wishing you all the best in 2011".

This is the appeal of Philip Flynn, Executive Director of Save the Chimps Sanctuary.

The renew of the membership will allow the sanctuary to reach up to USD 1 million through April 30, 2011, because Arcus Foundation are doubling every donation made.

The life of those who were tortured by humans depend on our generosity. Do something!

More information:
https://www.savethechimps.org/become-a-member

Dr. Pedro A. Ynterian
President, GAP Project International