THE EMPIRE ROOFTOP Thursday, June 5th, 2025 5:30pm – 8:30pm ET 44 West 63rd Street, New York City
You are cordially invited to join Dr. Sheri Speede, Sanaga-Yong’s Founder and Director, and Dr. Jennifer Chaitman, owner of Veterinary Internal Medicine and Allergy Specialists, New York City, for an unforgettable evening of compassion, conservation, and celebration. Dr. Speede has dedicated her life to rescuing chimpanzee victims of the illegal bushmeat trade and works tirelessly to protect endangered wildlife from poachers, dealers, and traffickers. Located in Cameroon, Africa, Sanaga-Yong holds the esteemed reputation for providing the highest quality of lifelong care and is currently home to 80 rescued chimpanzees.
Co-hosted by Paige Powell, photographer, art advisor, and animal rights activist.
With this first package, you and a guest will venture out to Cannon Beach, where you’ll be treated to a two-night stay at The Ocean Lodge – a beautiful, romantic property just steps away from the iconic Haystack Rock.
Guest rooms provide ocean views and beach access, a cozy fireplace, and are pet friendly for all the pet owners joining in support of Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue!
The Ocean Lodge is located within walking distance of boutique shopping, art galleries, and celebrated restaurants. During your stay, relax and unwind on The Ocean Lodge property, or venture out to enjoy nearby hiking, biking, and even horseback riding through the various horseback riding outfitters that service the area.
Valid Sunday through Thursday, October 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025. Excludes holidays and special events.
Our thanks to Board Member, Susan Labhard & The Ocean Lodge for this fantastic getaway to Cannon Beach!
Thank you for attending our Sanaga-Yong Soirée virtually! We are excited you are able to join us! Your Zoom invitation will be sent on Friday, September 16th. Then on Saturday, September 17th, you will have the opportunity to view Dr. Sheri Speede’s presentation via our private Zoom party. Sheri will begin speaking at 7:30pm PT, but you can log-on anytime between 7:15-7:30pm PT. If you are running late, no worries. You can join the party anytime. Following Sheri’s presentation, we will host the live auction and would love to have you share the evening with us until we say “goodnight” at 9:30pm PT.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR LIVE AUCTION:
From Thursday, September 8th through Thursday, September 15th you will have the opportunity to preview and bid on the live auction items we will have available at our Sanaga-Yong Soirée. If you would like to bid on any of the items, please follow the instructions below:
Email crystal@sanaga-yong.org and title your email “Virtual Live Auction.”
Please provide Crystal with the auction item number and name, and the amount you wish to bid.
We will apply your bid to that item the night of the soirée. For instance, if your bid is $500, the live bidding will begin at $600.
If you are not outbid, you will win the live auction item! Crystal will email you on Monday, September 19th and forward our donation link for you to pay for your winning item.
The majority of our rescued residents came to us as babies, usually under the age of two years old. For their mental, physical, and emotional development, and for their safety, they are raised under the careful and loving supervision of their caregivers until they are old and strong enough to be integrated with a community of older chimps.
During their time with their caregivers, they spend each day in the forest playing, exploring, learning and developing physically. Unfortunately, we’re now concerned about their safety in the forest. The beautiful free-living chimpanzees are coming close to our camp and enclosures more frequently, and they have occasionally exhibited threatening behavior that has driven the caregivers and babies out of the forest. The babies are terrified of them.
Sadly, a recent logging concession just outside of the Reserve is pushing other wild chimps toward us and causing the ones we’ve seen for years to come ever closer for safety. While we’re happy that our sanctuary is helping keep these magnificent chimps safe, it’s vital that we also thoroughly protect our rescued chimps from them.
We currently have three babies, Ndem, 2 years old, and Tamara and Kolbi, both about 2.5 years old. For their protection and to assure that we can safely care for other rescued youngsters in the coming years, we need to build a forested enclosure specifically for them. Due to the increasing threats, we need it urgently – a place where babies can safely learn and grow in their natural forest habitat.
An enclosure for our three babies, and those we will rescue in the future, would cost $25,000. To honor our virtual guests and give you an opportunity to participate in our Fund-a-Need, we have a Virtual Guest Kick-Off! Before our auctioneer begins the paddle raise, she will announce how much money our virtual guests have raised already! Our hope is this will inspire our in-person guests to generously participate. If you would like to help by donating, please click the button below. Any and all amounts will make a wonderful difference for our current babies and those who will need us in the future! Please email karin@sanaga-yong.org with any questions you may have. Thank you! And Ndem, Tamara and Kolbi thank you!
Seventeen-year-old Ginger has lived with Charlos since 2008. They have a small and close group, sharing a forested enclosure with only five other chimpanzees.
