With Thanksgiving yesterday and with the recent election and uncertainty of the future for science and climate change I wanted to take a moment to reflect on everything I’m thankful for in PDXWildlife’s past and everything I’m hopeful for in our future!
- First and foremost, I’m thankful for ALL of YOU guys – our readers, supporters, and donors who have made this year the most successful year we’ve had for fundraising! What have you helped accomplish?
- A brand spanking new freeze-dryer so we can store more samples for our research (and an additional skill to train our interns)
- A salary for Nate! Did you know that before this year Nate did most of his work for free? Generously donating his time to a cause we feel passionate about, making probably ~$2/hr when he was in China and making up his salary by piecing together contract work. That was not an easy life and I’m happy to say that thanks to a VERY generous anonymous donor the entirety of his salary is secured for next year!
- Additional funds to hire a part-time data entry technician (Scout!) for the next couple of months. This is a big step towards our goal to have three full-time employees by the end of 2017. And will ensure that we can continue and start projects that matter to the conservation of the giant panda!
- Still to be determined . . . proceeds from the Holiday Auction! I’m hoping the next couple of days inspires lots and lots of bids!
- A very close second/tie is our fabulous interns! We are so thankful that we have had such awesome interns that work so hard for our causes. Their positive attitudes and dedication to making this world a better place makes me hopeful for the future.
- PANDAS!! Well maybe that one should have been first ;). Included on this is our fabulous collaborators, keepers, and managers at the CCRCGP in China.
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we have many more to come with all of you!
Nathan & Meghan, Your PDXWildlife Panda Team.