Jungle Friends Expansion Project
Current Goal: Purchase Property
We have a rare opportunity right now to gain the "room to grow" that will make all the difference for so many lives in coming years.
The adjoining 20-acre property just east of Jungle Friends, perfect for our needs, is on the market for $295,000. The owner of the property has offered the property at a reduced cost of $250,000 for the sanctuary.
Available Land is Perfect for Primates!
Benefits of the Property Purchase
The new property will enable a number of critically important endeavors to support our mission:
- We can rescue more monkeys. On our current site, we are very limited on buildable space, and a primary motivation for the land purchase is to build more habitats to offer a safe haven for more monkeys.
- Our intern program has been growing over the past several years and is one of the keys to Jungle Friends' success. We offer a unique internship opportunity which attracts people from around the world. The enthusiastic labor force provided by our interns is critical as we grow, and the continuing support and dedication of our past interns is invaluable - but further expansion of the program is limited by our available housing, which cannot be increased on our current property.
- An on-site veterinary facility will provide care for our monkeys without the stress and delay of transporting them to an off-site vet. We have a small on-site clinic now, but need a larger building to provide full care. When our consulting vet retires and moves to Gainesville (in the next year), he will provide his professional services at no charge, and help secure donations of the equipment needed. This will significantly reduce our veterinary expenses, which were nearly $10,000 over the past year!
- Outreach can grow with addition of a new visitor/volunteer center, providing a larger venue for both educational and fundraising events to engage our community and to spread our message of compassion and respect for the other species who share our planet.
- Food production becomes a real possibility with the addition of more land. We plan to partner with other organizations and volunteers to grow our own vegetables for the Jungle Friends monkeys and people. With expenses for fresh produce exceeding $20,000 a year, we see this as an important financial, as well as environmental, move toward sustainability.
- Using alternative energy such as solar power is one of our dreams, and having available space can open the door to this opportunity. Electricity for the sanctuary tops our expenses at $40,000 a year and climbing. A switch to alternative, sustainable energy sources is definitely something we want to strive for!
If you are able, please consider a substantial donation to assist with our property purchase. The opportunity is here, now, and we cannot let it slip away. The adjoining property will provide the room for habitat expansion and, the facilities to expand our intern and outreach programs, and to move toward a more sustainable future.
Please help us open the door to future expansion. Contact Jungle Friends Executive Director Kari Bagnall -- info@junglefriends.org or 386-462-7779 -- to get involved in our expansion property purchase.
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